3. Factors influencing adhesion
The factors influencing bacterial adhesion can be divided into three main categories: bacterial self, material, and environmental. Bacterial self factors include extracellular appendages and extracellular polymers; material characteristics include roughness, hydrophobicity, and charge; and environmental factors include flow rate, pH, and temperature. By analyzing the factors influencing bacterial adhesion to material surfaces, adequate protective measures can inhibit microbial adhesion or growth and reproduction by reducing the formation of harmful biofilms.