Extracellular Polymeric Substance

 

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Extracellular Polymeric Substance

Extracellular Polymeric Substance

This SEM micrograph shows an Extracellular Polymeric Substance (EPS). A bacterial biofilm is held together by a material excreted by the bacteria known as Extracellular Polymeric Substance (EPS). This photograph shows a nice view of an EPS matrix holding a colony of Cocci bacteria together. The EPS has developed to the degree that it is completely encapsulating many of the individual bacterium. The colony has developed to the point that it is many levels deep. The crack in the center of the photograph is likely due to the sample preparation used in creating the micrograph. It serves, however, to show detail of the interior of the biofilm. It is easy to see that this EPS encapsulation leads to the colony being more resistant to antimicrobial and antibiotic treatments.

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