UNLABELLED Bacteria in the biofilm mode of growth are protected against chemical and mechanical stresses. Biofilms are composed, for the most part, of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). The extracellular matrix is composed of different chemical constituents, such as proteins, polysaccharides, and extracellular DNA (eDNA). Here we aimed to identify the roles of different matrix constitue...

Because of their outstanding physical properties, the use of carbon nanotubes within a polymer matrix has been proposed as a means to fabricate multifunctional composite materials with outstanding mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. To date, experimental work studying the mechanical response of a nanotube reinforced polymer (NRP) has typically focused on the effective elastic modulu...

Cartilage is considered a biphasic material in which the solid is composed of proteoglycans and collagen. In biphasic tissue, the hydraulic pressure is believed to bear most of the load under higher strain rates and its dissipation due to fluid flow determines creep and relaxation behavior. In equilibrium, hydraulic pressure is zero and load bearing is transferred to the solid matrix. The visco...