ABSTRACT
biofilms affect any system, positively or adversely, either by their physical presence or through the microbial conversions they mediate. Therefore, any modeling of biofilm formation should consider: development of the cells and the biofilm structure; the change in surface metabolic activity; and, if pertinent, the relationship between changing biofilm amount and an observed system response. This chapter reviews the various processes contributing to overall biofilm development and presents current mathematical descriptions of these individual processes. It illustrates several mathematical simulations of biofilm development. The chapter considers the various processes that are known to contribute to the overall formation and persistence of a biofilm, with special emphasis on the mathematical description of such processes. Cellular growth, replication, substrate conversion, endogenous decay, and extracellular polymer production are collectively those metabolic processes euphemistically termed "biofilm growth".
