Bacterial attachment to the mucin layer of the gut epithelium is fundamental to the establishment of a stable commensal microflora, and relevant to the progress of infection by important pathogenic bacteria. Using advanced nanobiotechnological techniques the research aims to examine the interaction between mucin and the surface structures of the bacterial cell wall, in order to study their mutual interaction and to identify the molecular basis of the attractive interactions which play a role in bacterial adhesion in vivo. The research also aims to test whether non-specific charge interactions can be used to perturb the adhesion. We will use surface structures derived from Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium strain SL1344 and from strains of Lactobacillus.