Multiscale Computational Modeling of Biofilm

TL;DR

This paper reviews multiscale computational models of biofilms, emphasizing mesoscale algorithms like DPD and IbM, and discusses their advantages, limitations, and potential for engineering living materials.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of biofilm modeling across molecular to continuum scales, highlighting mesoscale methods and their suitability for biofilm engineering.

Findings

IbM offers accurate biological and mechanical property modeling.

Mesoscale algorithms like DPD are effective for biofilm simulation.

Each modeling scale has specific advantages and limitations.

Abstract

We review the computation models for biofilm and bacteria cells, providing perspectives on biofilm's various properties and potential serving as engineering living materials (ELMs), considering the omnipresence of such biological matter. The minireview starts from the molecular regime, bottom-up to the mesoscale, to continuum, with an emphasis on the mesoscale algorithms such as dissipative particles dynamics (DPD) and individual-based modeling (IbM). Some representative works are highlighted considering different modeling methods on each scale. The advantages and limitations of each algorithm for different scales are elaborated given the existed research works. Specifically, the potential for IbM, also known as the discrete element method (DEM) is targeted for its accurate description of both biological and mechanical properties.