<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> is an opportunistic pathogen
responsible for diseases such as bacteremia, chronic lung infection,
and acute ulcerative keratitis. <i>P. aeruginosa</i> induced
diseases can be fatal as the exotoxins and endotoxins released by
the bacterium continue to damage host tissues even after the administration
of antibiotics. As bacterial adhesion on cell surfaces is the first
step in bacterial based pathogen infections, the control of bacteria–cell
interactions is a worthwhile research target. In this work, thermally
responsive poly(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) [P(NIPAAm)]
based biomimetic surfaces were developed to study the two major bacterial
infection mechanisms, which is believed to be mediated by hydrophobic
or lectin–carbohydrate interactions, using quartz crystal microbalance
with dissipation. Although, a greater number of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> adhered to the NIPAAm homopolymer modified surfaces at temperatures
higher than the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the bacterium–substratum
bond stiffness was stronger between <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and a galactose based P(NIPAAm) surface. The high bacterial adhesion
bond stiffness observed on the galactose based thermally responsive
surface at 37 °C might suggest that both hydrophobic and lectin–carbohydrate
interactions contribute to bacterial adhesion on cell surfaces. Our
investigation also suggests that the lectin–carbohydrate interaction
play a significant role in bacterial infections
