Microbial communities are predominantly found in biofilms, which are composed of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The EPS matrix is engineered and reconfigured by microbes, making it difficult to distinguish between the biotic and abiotic origins of biofilm properties. To establish this distinction, simplify models of the EPS matrix, the study uses molecular dynamic(MD) simulation to predict the nanoscale structure of a model extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix and its sensitivity to interpolymer interactions and water content.

Control of molecular orientation and alignment has been a longstanding goal in chemical reaction dynamics because the outcome of chemical reactions inherently depends on the relative orientation of the colliding species.