Epstein, Alexander

2013
Epstein AK, Hong D, Kim P, Aizenberg J. Biofilm attachment reduction on bioinspired, dynamic, microwrinkling surfaces. New J. Phys. 2013;15 :095018. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Most bacteria live in multicellular communities known as biofilms that are adherent to surfaces in our environment, from sea beds to plumbing systems. Biofilms are often associated with clinical infections, nosocomial deaths and industrial damage such as bio-corrosion and clogging of pipes. As mature biofilms are extremely challenging to eradicate once formed, prevention is advantageous over treatment. However, conventional surface chemistry strategies are either generally transient, due to chemical masking, or toxic, as in the case of leaching marine antifouling paints. Inspired by the nonfouling skins of echinoderms and other marine organisms, which possess highly dynamic surface structures that mechanically frustrate bio-attachment, we have developed and tested a synthetic platform based on both uniaxial mechanical strain and buckling-induced elastomer microtopography. Bacterial biofilm attachment to the dynamic substrates was studied under an array of parameters, including strain amplitude and timescale (1–100 mm s−1), surface wrinkle length scale, bacterial species and cell geometry, and growth time. The optimal conditions for achieving up to  ~ 80% Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm reduction after 24 h growth and  ~ 60% reduction after 48 h were combinatorially elucidated to occur at 20% strain amplitude, a timescale of less than  ~ 5 min between strain cycles and a topography length scale corresponding to the cell dimension of  ~ 1 μm. Divergent effects on the attachment of P. aeruginosaStaphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli biofilms showed that the dynamic substrate also provides a new means of species-specific biofilm inhibition, or inversely, selection for a desired type of bacteria, without reliance on any toxic or transient surface chemical treatments.
2012
Epstein AK, Wong TS, Belisle RA, Boggs EM, Aizenberg J. Liquid-infused structured surfaces with exceptional anti-biofouling performance. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. 2012;109 (33) :13182-13187. PNAS-2012-Epstein-1201973109.pdf
Burgoyne H, Kim P, Kolle M, Epstein AK, Aizenberg J. Screening Conditions for Rationally Engineered Electrodeposition of Nanostructures (SCREEN): Electrodeposition and Applications of Polypyrrole Nanofibers using MIcrofluidic Gradients. Small. 2012;8 (22) :3502-3509. Burgoyne_Small2012.pdf
Grinthal A, Kang SH, Epstein AK, Aizenberg M, Khan M, Aizenberg J. Steering nanofibers: An integrative approach to bio-inspired fiber fabrication and assembly. Nano Today. 2012;7 (1) :35-52. 2012_NanoToday_review.pdf
Kim P, Epstein AK, Khan M, Zarzar LD, Lipomi DJ, Whitesides GM, and Aizenberg J. Structural Transformation by Electrodeposition on Patterned Substrates (STEPS) - A New Versatile Nanofabrication Method. Nano Lett. 2012;12 (2) :527-533. 2011_NanoLett_Phil.pdf
2011
Epstein AK, Pokroy B, Seminara A, Aizenberg J. Bacterial biofilm shows persistent resistance to liquid wetting and gas penetration. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA. 2011;108 (3) :995-1000. 2011_epstein_etal_pnas.pdf
Epstein AK, Hochbaum AI, Kim P, and Aizenberg J. Control of bacterial biofilm growth on surfaces by nanostructural mechanics and geometry. Nanotechnology. 2011;22 (49) :494007. Nanotechnology2011.pdf
2010
Epstein AK, and Aizenberg J. Biomimetic Nanostructured Surfaces with Designer Mechanics and Geometry for Broad Applications. Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 2010;1236E :1236-SS09-07. 2010_MRS_fabrication.pdf
2009
Pokroy B, Epstein AK, Persson-Gulda MCM, Aizenberg J. Fabrication of Bio-Inspired Actuated Nanostructures with Arbitrary Geometry and Stiffness. Adv. Mater. 2009;21 :463-469. 2009_AdvMat.pdf