FIG 4.

Biofilm formation by S. aureus on sections of cups made of silicone and TPE. Sections of 1 by 1.5 cm of be'Cup size 1, made of silicone, and Me Luna size S, made of TPE, were incubated in the presence of GFP-labeled S. aureus LUG2902 without agitation. After 4, 6, and 8 h, sections of cups were recovered, washed, mounted under coverslides, and observed by confocal microscopy, as described in Materials and Methods. 3D projections were reconstructed by using the ZENV2.3 software package from z-stacks with 1-μm serial optical sections. S. aureus cells are labeled green. Panels A and B correspond to two-dimensional (2D) observations at different locations, while panels C correspond to the 3D projections from z-stacks.