{
  "abstract": "Bacteriophages (phages) are regaining attention as alternatives to antibiotics in the antimicrobial resistance crisis. Although successful cases are widely reported, the influence of physical, abiotic substrate morphology on phage performance remains largely unexamined, despite morphology being an intrinsic topographical feature present at many infection and decontamination sites, such as granular chronic wound beds or porous bone-implant interfaces. In this study, smooth, rough, and porous substrates were physically engineered to investigate the effects of abiotic substrate morphology on phage potency. Profiler and SEM analyses confirmed three distinct morphologies spanning several orders of magnitude in surface roughness. Phage K exhibited a clear hierarchy of bactericidal activity across these morphologies, with the highest activity on smooth substrates, reduced activity on rough substrates, and the lowest activity on porous architectures. Histological analysis and COMSOL simulations revealed that increasing morphological complexity elevates tortuosity and reduces phage accessibility and the probability of encountering pathogens. Together, these findings establish substrate morphology as a critical determinant of phage kinetics and bactericidal potency, relevant both to surface decontamination and, cautiously, to real infection sites such as wound beds and implant-tissue interfaces that inherently possess complex microarchitectures. Incorporating substrate morphology into the design of phage-based applications may improve the predictive accuracy of dosing, interval design, and clinical translation, and deepen understanding of the underlying pharmacology.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom",
    "School of Agri‐Food Technology and Manufacturing, University of Lincoln, Holbeach, United Kingdom",
    "Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam",
    "School of Engineering & Technology, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam",
    "Biomedical Engineering Research Group, School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom",
    "Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London, United Kingdom"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haoyu Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Oluyemi Olatunji Awolusi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Saravana Kumar Jaganathan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jing Lyu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Chaozong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nick Tucker"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bukola Adenike Onarinde"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e980zstpnp91j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0356919",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "e980zstpnp91j",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356919",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2303|Bacteriophages and microbial interactions"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Staphylococcus/Staphylococcus aureus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Bacteria/Staphylococcus/Staphylococcus aureus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Viruses/Bacteriophages"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Tissue repair/Lysis (medicine)"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Sanitization/Decontamination"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Medical conditions/Infectious diseases/Infectious disease control/Sanitization/Decontamination"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens/Staphylococcus/Staphylococcus aureus"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Preventive medicine/Sanitization/Decontamination"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Materials science/Material properties/Porosity"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Microscopy/Electron microscopy/Scanning electron microscopy"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Simulation and modeling"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213399548",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0356919&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-16",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e980zstpnp91j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0356919",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356919"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:physiology",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Substrate morphology modulates bacteriophage mobility and alters bactericidal potency",
  "title_text": "Substrate morphology modulates bacteriophage mobility and alters bactericidal potency",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e980zstpnp91j",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}