Using 3D printing to understand bacterial attachment and swarming

3 year PhD Studentship in Future for Additive Manufacturing Platform Grant

The aim of the platform proposal is to discover, understand and enable industrial implementation of AM solutions to address the issues of productivity and industrial scalability, with the ambition being that this will strengthen the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cfam/index.aspx engagement across the full value chain from discovery to deployment.

This Platform proposal is therefore centred on both addressing subjects of international importance, productivity and industrial scalability, alongside sustaining an international renowned research group. It enables the CfAM to renew its long term research vision, through the exploration and exploitation of new and emerging science, whilst maintaining a focus on overcoming the challenges associated with implementing AM into industry.

Project description:
We will use ink jet printing of pro and anti-bacteria attachment materials to understand the behaviour of bacteria. Bacteria exhibit a wide range of interesting phenomena, many of which can be understood from a mathematical or statistical mechanical perspective. For example, bacterial colonies often show behaviour that is similar to nematic liquid crystals and their movement is similar to viscous fingering – like the patterns formed when the sea drains from a sandy beach. What this project will do is create 2D and 3D patterns using ink jet based additive manufacturing, on which bacteria will be placed. The motion of individual bacteria will then be followed to see how they respond to the placement of material that may promote or may inhibit attachment to the surface. Using statistical measures, we will then quantify the basic motion and dynamics of bacteria in response to variations in material chemistry, shape and topology.
The aim of the platform proposal is to discover, understand and enable industrial implementation of AM solutions to address the issues of productivity and industrial scalability, with the ambition being that this will strengthen the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/cfam/index.aspx engagement across the full value chain from discovery to deployment.

This Platform proposal is therefore centred on both addressing subjects of international importance, productivity and industrial scalability, alongside sustaining an international renowned research group. It enables the CfAM to renew its long term research vision, through the exploration and exploitation of new and emerging science, whilst maintaining a focus on overcoming the challenges associated with implementing AM into industry.

Project description:
We will use ink jet printing of pro and anti-bacteria attachment materials to understand the behaviour of bacteria. Bacteria exhibit a wide range of interesting phenomena, many of which can be understood from a mathematical or statistical mechanical perspective. For example, bacterial colonies often show behaviour that is similar to nematic liquid crystals and their movement is similar to viscous fingering – like the patterns formed when the sea drains from a sandy beach. What this project will do is create 2D and 3D patterns using ink jet based additive manufacturing, on which bacteria will be placed. The motion of individual bacteria will then be followed to see how they respond to the placement of material that may promote or may inhibit attachment to the surface. Using statistical measures, we will then quantify the basic motion and dynamics of bacteria in response to variations in material chemistry, shape and topology.