Dispersion Inhibits Thermal Mitigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Self-Heating Surfaces

Parham Parnian; Paraskevi K Zoga; Haydar A S Aljaafari; Hannah Chicchelly; Michael Toops; Eric Nuxoll

doi:10.1002/mbo3.70283

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Dispersion Inhibits Thermal Mitigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Self-Heating Surfaces

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Dispersion Inhibits Thermal Mitigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Self-Heating Surfaces

Parham Parnian, Paraskevi K Zoga, Haydar A S Aljaafari, Hannah Chicchelly, Michael Toops and Eric Nuxoll

MicrobiologyOpen (Weinheim), Vol.15(2), e70283

04/2026

DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.70283

PMCID: PMC13051927

PMID: 41940480

Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access

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Abstract

Bacterial biofilms on medical implants are a major problem, typically requiring explantation and replacement of the biofilm-colonized implant. Thermal mitigation of these biofilms in situ has shown great promise in the laboratory, where the thermal shock can be most precisely delivered by immersion in hot media. Clinical implementation requires delivering the shock from the implant surface, however, leaving the surroundings at a cooler temperature. This study hypothesized that bacteria may rapidly, reversibly disperse into the cooler surroundings to partially evade the shock and tested this hypothesis by thermally shocking Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms on thermoelectric devices under media with different heat sink conditions. The time scale and equilibrium constant of this dispersion were investigated in ambient temperature immersion studies, and the effect of thermal shock on bacterial dispersion rate was investigated in a flow cell using biofilms grown on thermoelectric devices. The results showed that biofilms equilibrate with surrounding media in seconds, that a small fraction of bacteria in the biofilm are much less prone to dispersion, that thermal shock triggers an immediate increase in dispersion, and that shocking biofilms via their substrate in cooler surrounding decreases shock efficacy compared to shocks where the surrounding's temperature approaches that of the substrate.

Biofilms - growth & development

Biofilms - radiation effects

Hot Temperature

Prostheses and Implants - microbiology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa - growth & development

Pseudomonas aeruginosa - physiology

Pseudomonas aeruginosa - radiation effects

UIOWA OA Agreement

Details

Title: Subtitle: Dispersion Inhibits Thermal Mitigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Self-Heating Surfaces
Creators: Parham Parnian - University of Iowa
Paraskevi K Zoga - University of Iowa
Haydar A S Aljaafari - University of Iowa, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Hannah Chicchelly - University of Iowa
Michael Toops - University of Iowa
Eric Nuxoll - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: MicrobiologyOpen (Weinheim), Vol.15(2), e70283
DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.70283
PMID: 41940480
PMCID: PMC13051927
NLM abbreviation: Microbiologyopen
ISSN: 2045-8827
eISSN: 2045-8827
Publisher: Wiley
Grant note: 18IPA34170108 / American Heart Association
Language: English
Date published: 04/2026
Academic Unit: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics; Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9985152121702771

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