Cu-bearing stainless steel inhibits biofilm by modulating bacterial motility

Biofilm is a structured community of bacteria enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix. Bacterial motility intimately associated with the growth and extension in biofilm development. Here, we carried out a parallel cell-tracking process to capture the motility of bacteria in situ real-time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) were employed to validate the morphology and structure of biofilm. Results show that Cu-bearing stainless steel (SS) elevated bacterial motility of surface exploration and diminished swarming motility of planktonic bacteria. We concluded that Cu-bearing SS modulated bacterial motility towards detrimental biofilm formation.