Patterned biofilm formation reveals a mechanism for structural heterogeneity in bacterial biofilms.

Bacterial biofilms are ubiquitous and are the major cause of chronic infections in humans and persistent biofouling in industry. Despite the significance of bacterial biofilms, the mechanism of biofilm formation and associated drug tolerance is still not fully understood. A major challenge in biofilm research is the intrinsic heterogeneity in the biofilm structure, which leads to temporal and spatial variation in cell density and gene expression.

Polymerization of mannosyl tricyclic orthoesters for the synthesis of alpha(1-6) mannopyranan-the backbone of lipomannan.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem worldwide. Understanding the interactions between the surface components of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the main causative agent of TB, with host immune response will be critical for developments of effective treatments and prevention of TB. Chemically defined mimics of the bacterial envelope components serve as important tools for biological studies of the bacterial interactions with mammalian hosts.