Numerical Solution of a Novel Biofilm Growth Model

In this work we simulate biofilm structures (“finger-like”, as well as, compact structures) as a result of microbial growth in different environmental conditions. At the same time, the numerical method that we use in order to carry out the computational simulations is new to the biological community, as far as we know. The use of our model sheds light on the biological process of biofilm formation since it simulates some central issues of biofilm growth : the pattern formation of heterogeneous structures, such as finger-like structures, in a substrate-transport-limited regime, and the formation of more compact structures, in a growth-limited-regime.