Abstract

Many strategies have been applied by mankind to fight bacterial infections, primarily
designed to either kill bacteria via antibiotics or more recently to prevent their
adhesion to surfaces and host tissues. Little attention though has been given to ask
how these strategies might affect the ability of our immune cells to pick up bacteria
from surfaces. To clear pathogens from host tissues or biomaterial surfaces,
macrophages have to contact and hold on to their prey and then generate sufficient
force to break a large cluster of adhesive bonds by which bacteria tightly bind to
surfaces or tissue fibers. Unexpectedly, novel insights into nanomechanical aspects
also revealed some adverse and unanticipated side effects how common
antibacterial drugs impair the ability of our immune cells to fight infections.