Deciphering Microbe-Material-Interactions: Shear Force-Dependent and Time-Resolved Mechanisms of Oral Bacteria Adhesion to Implant Surfaces

• Applicant: Dr. Katharina Nikutta
• Subject Area: Dentistry, Oral Surgery ; Biophysics
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 584277159

Implant-associated infections are one of the major challenges in modern dentistry. As the risk of infection already starts with the first adhesion of bacteria on the implant surface, understanding this process in its entirety is the fundamental prerequisite for knowledge-based development of anti-adhesive implant surfaces. However, currently, due to methodological limitations, different stages of this process can only be analyzed separately and do not cover the entire time scale of bacterial adhesion. In the proposed study, the consideration of naturally occurring shear forces as a key element across all time frames and analytical techniques will, for the first time, enable a molecule-accurate, time-resolved deciphering and subsequent prediction of the entire adhesion process. For this purpose, the expertise from static single cell force spectroscopy (SCFS) and the Hannoverian oral multispecies biofilm implant flow chamber (HOBIC) model will be combined to establish a new measurement technique for SCFS under flow conditions (SCFSflow). This new method will then be systematically correlated with classical plate-and-wash assays with aligned shear rates and adhesion times to derive the influence of fluid flow on the adhesion process and formulate a theory on the initial bacterial adhesion to titanium implants. Furthermore, surface modifications by oral saliva and blood components, anti-adhesive surface functionalization as well as bacterial co-adhesion will be used to verify the theory’s potential to predict bacterial adhesion. The results of this project will allow to step forward from a retrospective description of the adhesion process towards a targeted tuning of the microbe-material-interaction. This will not only enable knowledge-based design and improvement of anti-adhesive implant surfaces but also increase their clinical transferability and in the long-term patient’s health.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants