Effect of a Microscopic Roughness on Biological Adhesion of a Spherical Capsule

TL;DR

This study uses computer simulations to explore how microscopic surface roughness influences the adhesion behavior of a deformable spherical capsule, revealing three distinct adhesion regimes based on surface topography.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation-based analysis of capsule adhesion on micro-rough surfaces, identifying three adhesion regimes and their dependence on surface topography.

Findings

Three adhesion regimes identified: weak, strong, and impalement.

Micro-relief promotes favorable capsule positioning on rough surfaces.

Capsule deformation varies with adhesion regime.

Abstract

By means of computer simulations, this work addresses adhesion of a deformable spherical capsule to a micro-rough surface consisting of a periodic array of pillars. Depending on the micro-relief topography, three different adhesion regimes have been observed: 1) weak adhesion without deformation of the membrane (fakir state); 2) strong adhesion with deformation of the capsule membrane and binding to the bottom wall (nested or contacting state); 3) impalement of the capsule by micropillars. It has been found that a periodic micro-relief implies a favorable positioning of the capsule on rough surfaces.