Enabling spatial analysis of living cell/electrode interfaces
Abstract
In bioelectronic devices, connectivity of bacterial layers to the electrode surface is of paramount importance, yet difficult to characterise. Here, we provide a multimodal characterisation of the interfacial structure between cyanobacteria and conductive surfaces by combining complementary analytical techniques including neutron reflectometry, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We show that after many hours of gravitational settling, most bacteria remain separated from the surface by a large (over 1 µm) distance, but are connected via organic species in the extracellular matrix. Adhesion is improved by pre-coating the surface with a layer of conductive polymer, whereupon the bacteria adhere strongly and form a thick (18 µm), yet porous, film. This work demonstrates new approaches for studying these complex biological/inorganic interfaces in situ, and reveals how the cyanobacterial/electrode interface can be more precisely imaged and tuned
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BibTeX
@article{wood2026enabling,
title = {{Enabling spatial analysis of living cell/electrode interfaces}},
author = {Mary H Wood and Melania Reggente and Evan I Wroe and Juan Rubio-Lara and Rebecca J L Welbourn and Samantha Micciulla and Giovanna Fragneto and Joshua M Lawrence and Jenny Z Zhang},
journal = {Journal of Colloid and Interface Science},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1016/j.jcis.2026.141406},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05857609v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Enabling spatial analysis of living cell/electrode interfaces
AU - Mary H Wood
AU - Melania Reggente
AU - Evan I Wroe
AU - Juan Rubio-Lara
AU - Rebecca J L Welbourn
AU - Samantha Micciulla
AU - Giovanna Fragneto
AU - Joshua M Lawrence
AU - Jenny Z Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/22
JO - Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
DO - 10.1016/j.jcis.2026.141406
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05857609v1
AB - In bioelectronic devices, connectivity of bacterial layers to the electrode surface is of paramount importance, yet difficult to characterise. Here, we provide a multimodal characterisation of the interfacial structure between cyanobacteria and conductive surfaces by combining complementary analytical techniques including neutron reflectometry, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We show that after many hours of gravitational settling, most bacteria remain separated from the surface by a large (over 1 µm) distance, but are connected via organic species in the extracellular matrix. Adhesion is improved by pre-coating the surface with a layer of conductive polymer, whereupon the bacteria adhere strongly and form a thick (18 µm), yet porous, film. This work demonstrates new approaches for studying these complex biological/inorganic interfaces in situ, and reveals how the cyanobacterial/electrode interface can be more precisely imaged and tuned
SN - 0021-9797
SN - 1095-7103
ER -