Abstract
Microbial colonization and biofilm formation drive infection persistence and the spread of antimicrobial resistance, particularly under flow conditions typical of medical and natural environments. Here, we combine spontaneously buckled wrinkled topographies with microfluidic platforms to investigate the adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus across shear rates of 0.4-200 s−1. Wrinkled surfaces with tunable wavelengths (0.5-20 μm) are fabricated and characterized using optical, atomic force, and scanning electron microscopy. Sinusoidal wrinkles with a 2 μm wavelength reduce bacterial colonization by over 70% when oriented perpendicular to flow, while folded wrinkles of 5 μm achieve more than 90% reduction across broader shear regimes and suppress biofilm formation by over 85% relative to flat controls. These topographies retain antifouling performance under pulsatile flow. This work demonstrates a scalable, chemical-free strategy for passive biofilm control through geometric surface design, enabling durable antimicrobial materials for biomedical and industrial applications.
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Additional data supporting this study are available in the Supplementary Information. A Source data file containing all data displayed in the figures and reported in the tables is provided with this paper and is accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17303681. Any remaining data underlying this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by EU funding within the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) PNRR Extended Partnership initiative on Emerging Infectious Diseases (project no. PE00000007, INF-ACT) to R.R., EU HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF investigating microbial colonization and removal on dynamic patterned surfaces (grant no. 101110029, MOBILE) to L.P., and by a grant from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), Dipartimenti di Eccellenza 2023-2027 (I.232/2016, art. 1, commi 314-337) to V.C., R.C., and F.M.. E.D.I. and M.C. are grateful to Humanitas University Office of Information Technology for the computing resources maintenance. L.P., V.C., R.C., and F.M. gratefully acknowledge the support of the ISIS@MACH ITALIA Research Infrastructure, the hub of ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (UK), [MUR official registry U. 0008642.28-05-2020-16th April 2020]. IM@IT is listed in the Italian Ministry of University and Research’s Piano Nazionale delle Infrastrutture di Ricerca (PNIR 2021–2027) “in the broader notion of ISIS”, and ISIS Facility and IM@IT are jointly listed in high-priority RI’s (see Table 6, page 30, note 38, PNIR in 2021–2027).
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L.P. and R.R. conceived and designed the project. L.P. conducted the microfluidic experiments and performed data analysis. L.P., G.S., and E.S. carried out numerical simulations and interpreted the results. L.P., V.C., R.C., and F.M. performed and analyzed AFM measurements. M.C. and E.D.I. conducted and analyzed SEM measurements. S.L. and C.B. contributed to data analysis and interpretation. V.V., M.K., and R.R. acquired funding and supervised the research. L.P. and R.R. wrote the original draft, and all authors contributed to reviewing and editing the manuscript.
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Pellegrino, L., Savorana, G., Cassina, V. et al. Reduction of bacterial colonization on buckling-induced wrinkled surfaces under fluid shear. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68078-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68078-5
