Free boundary problem for the role of planktonic cells in biofilm formation and development

Abstract: The dynamics of biofilm lifecycle are deeply influenced by the surrounding environment and the interactions between sessile and planktonic phenotypes. Bacterial biofilms typically develop in three distinct stages: attachment of cells to a surface, growth of cells into colonies, and detachment of cells from the colony into the surrounding medium. The attachment of planktonic cells plays a prominent role in the initial phase of biofilm lifecycle as it initiates the colony formation. During the maturation stage, biofilms harbor numerous microenvironments which lead to metabolic heterogeneity. Such microniches provide conditions suitable for the growth of new species, which are present in the bulk liquid as planktonic cells and can penetrate the porous biofilm matrix. We present a 1D continuum model on the interaction of sessile and planktonic phenotypes in biofilm lifestyle which considers both the initial attachment and colonization phenomena. The model is formulated as a hyperbolic-elliptic free boundary value problem with vanishing initial value. Hyperbolic equations reproduce the transport and growth of sessile species, while elliptic equations model the diffusion and conversion of planktonic cells and dissolved substrates. The attachment is modelled as a continuous, deterministic process which depends on the concentrations of the attaching species. The growth of new species is modelled through a reaction term in the hyperbolic equations which depends on the concentration of planktonic species within the biofilm. Existence and uniqueness of solutions are discussed and proved for the attachment regime. Finally, some numerical examples show that the proposed model correctly reproduces the growth of new species within the biofilm and overcomes the ecological restrictions characterizing the Wanner-Gujer type models.