Figure 5.
Effect of local topography on cell growth and division: (A) On a flat surface, any orientation angle is allowed for subsequent cell division. (B) In the presence of a topographic cavity, the allowed angles for subsequent cell division are restricted by the boundary of the cell that lies within the topographic cavity, as shown in red. (C,D) The topographic restriction of the cavity generates a hindered zone on the cell wall, determined by the maximum red circle inscribed in the cavity (D). This also defines the fraction of cell area fgrowth where cell division is allowed, depicted in blue (C,D). In the equation displayed in (C), r stands for the pore radius and R for the radius of Staphylococcus spp. cells as illustrated in (D). (E) Probability density function for fgrowth on SiNW surfaces weighted by the pore area.