A current trend in biofilm research uses viscoelasticity to evaluate biological mechanisms used to adapt to environmental changes. However, due to un-quantified variability in mechanical properties, it is difficult to make comparisons between different growth conditions, strains, or species. To interpret biofilm viscoelasticity requires understanding its statistical variance divorced from experimental technique. In this work, 23 P. aeruginosa biofilms at air/water interfaces are characterized using an interfacial rheometer. This provides the least disturbance to the biofilm, allowing a truer sense of biological variability. Experiments were conducted in 3 sets in 2 different labs. Moduli varied 1 order of magnitude within a single set. Statistical analysis confirms that under seemingly identical growth conditions, viscoelastic moduli were different based on experiment location, which is attributed to minor changes in ambient conditions. Understanding this variance will lead to a better evaluation and comparison of biofilm formation in future studies.

生物膜研究的当前趋势是使用粘弹性来评估用于适应环境变化的生物机制。但是，由于机械性能的不确定性变化，很难在不同的生长条件，菌株或物种之间进行比较。解释生物膜粘弹性需要了解其与实验技术不同的统计差异。在这项工作中，铜绿假单胞菌23空气/水界面处的生物膜使用界面流变仪进行表征。这对生物膜的干扰最小，从而可以更真实地了解生物变异性。在2个不同的实验室中进行了3组实验。模量在一组内变化了1个数量级。统计分析证实，在看似相同的生长条件下，粘弹性模量根据实验位置而有所不同，这归因于环境条件的微小变化。了解这种差异将导致在以后的研究中更好地评估和比较生物膜的形成。