Figure 6.

Influence of an abrupt decrease of the shear rate on the residence time of recently adhered bacteria. Bacteria were left to adhere for 100 s at a high flow rate value (3 μL/min), following which at t₀ the flow rate was decreased to 0.1 μL/min (equivalent to changing shear stress from 0.73 to 0.024 Pa), or kept constant. Desorption events were recorded for 100 s after t₀. Data represent the fraction of adhered bacteria detaching at constant shear stress (solid) or after a decrease of the shear stress (shading). (Inset) Flow rate as a function of time for both cases. Data are the average of 17 and 23 measurements, represented with standard errors.