Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 15 2 2023 04 19 303 310 EN Ikhlas Chennoufi Department of Biology, Laboratory of Industrial and Surface Engineering, Research Team of “Bioprocesses and Bio Interfaces”, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco Chorouk Zanane Department of Biology, Laboratory of Industrial and Surface Engineering, Research Team of “Bioprocesses and Bio Interfaces”, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco Mehdi Ameslek Department of Material Science, Dispersive Solids Group, Faculty of Materials and Geosciences, Technical University, Darmstadt, Germany Hafida Zahir Department of Biology, Laboratory of Industrial and Surface Engineering, Research Team of “Bioprocesses and Bio Interfaces”, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco Mostafa EL Louali Department of Biology, Laboratory of Industrial and Surface Engineering, Research Team of “Bioprocesses and Bio Interfaces”, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco Hassan Latrache Department of Biology, Laboratory of Industrial and Surface Engineering, Research Team of “Bioprocesses and Bio Interfaces”, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco 2022 05 19 2023 02 25 Background and Objectives: Adhesion of microorganisms on facemask surfaces is a major problem that produces contamination of the mask wearer either by inhalation or by direct contact. Generally, physicochemical properties of the material and the microorganism are responsible for this adhesion and are also reported to influence the filtration efficiency of facemasks. However, theses surface proprieties and their effect on particles attachment on facemask materials remain poorly documented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties of seven facemasks and evaluate the influence of these characteristics on the adhesion of Sataphylococcus aureus. Materials and Methods: Physicochemical properties is done by contact angle method and scanning electron microscopy while theoretical adhesion of S. aureus is done according to XDLVO approach. Results: The obtained results showed that all masks have a hydrophobic character. The electron donor and electron acceptor parameters change depending on each mask. Chemical analysis demonstrates the presence of two chemical elements (carbon and oxygen). Predictive adhesion demonstrate that S. aureus has an attractive behavior towards the masks used but the potential of adhesion is not the same. Conclusion: Such information is valuable to understand attachment of biological particles and to contribute in the inhibition of this attachment. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/3737 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/3737/1570