Fig. 3

The process of S. aureus biofilm formation. Previous reports have classified the biofilm formation process into several stages including initial attachment, proliferative growth, and deconstruction and diffusion. The attachment phase is subdivided into reversible and irreversible attachment, with free S. aureus first reversibly attaching to the surface of inert or active entities and then forming irreversible attachments by secreting extracellular substances such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, DNA, and other substances. Then, S. aureus further expands the scale of the biofilm through polysaccharide-dependent and polysaccharide-independent pathways. In addition, the binding of associated surface proteins results in tighter binding of adjacent cells. Finally, the mature tower biofilm diffuses through various extracellular polymeric substance cracking mechanisms