Biofilm formation and microbial adhesion are two related and complex phenomena. These phenomena are known to play an important role in microbial life and various functions with positive and negative aspects. Actinobacteria have wide distribution in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This phylum is very large and diverse and contains two important genera Streptomyces and Mycobacteria. The genus Streptomyces is the most biotechnologically important, while the genus Mycobacteria contains the pathogenic species of Mycobacteriaceae. According to the literature, the majority of studies carried out on actinomycetes are focused on the detection of new molecules. Despite the well-known diversity and metabolic activities, less attention has been paid to this phylum. Research on adhesion and biofilm formation is not well developed. In the present review, an attempt has been made to review the literature available on the different aspects on biofilm formation and adhesion of Actinobacteria. We focus especially on the genus Streptomyces. Furthermore, a brief overview about the molecules and structures involved in the adhesion phenomenon in the most relevant genus is summarized. We mention the mechanisms of quorum sensing and quorum quenching because of their direct association with biofilm formation.

Streptomyces has many advantages for exploration in biotechnological applications because of their ability to elaborate a multitude of bioactive molecules and secondary metabolites. Despite the importance of this genus in biotechnology, biofilm formation in Streptomyces is under-investigated. The objective of this research is to adapt two assays for the assessment of biofilm formation in Streptomyces. In the present investigation, we assess and follow biofilm formation in eight Streptomyces strains using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative study based on a staining of the retained biomass in the microtiter plate with crystal violet “5%” and destaining using ethanol/acetone mixture, the concentration of crystal violet in the alcoholic solution reflect the intensity of the attached biofilm. On the other hand, the qualitative one consists of using modified freeman’s method a modified congo red agar method based on the color of colonies. Quantification of biomass by crystal violet staining method confirmed that Streptomyces bellus A43 and Streptomyces bellus A61 are biofilm-forming and this ability increase with the period of incubation. Our results showed that sixStreptomyces strains arenon-slime producing/non-biofilm forming. Two Streptomyces strains are slime producing/biofilm forming; this character vanishes at five days. Further research on genes responsible for biofilm formation in Streptomyces is highly recommended for better understanding of the phenomenon.

The cell surface physicochemical properties of Streptomyces should influencing the dispersal and adsorption of spores and hyphae in soil and should conditioning there interactions with organic or metal substances in the bioremediation of contaminated environment. These properties are concerning surface hydrophobicity, electron donor/acceptor, and charge surface. To date, only hydrophobicity of Streptomyces was studied by contact angle measurements and microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH). In this work, we studied the electron donor/acceptor character of the Streptomyces cell surface in two ionic strength 10⁻³M and 10⁻¹M of KNO₃. Thus, to facilitate the characterisation of the surfaces of microbial cells, we used a simple, rapid, and quantitative technique, the microbial adhesion method to solvents (MATS), which is based on the comparison of the affinity of microbial cells for a monopolar solvent with a polar solvent. The monopolar solvent can be acid (electron acceptor) or basic (electron donor), but both solvents should have a surface tension similar to that of the Kifshitz van der Waals components. At the significant ionic strength of the biological medium, the electron donor character is well expressed for all 14 Streptomyces strains with very significant differences among them ranging from 0 to 72.92. When the cells were placed in a solution with a higher ionic strength, we were able to classify the donor character results into three categories. The first category is that the weak donor character of strains A53 and A58 became more expressed at 10⁻¹M KNO₃ concentration. The second category is that three strains A30, A60, and A63 expressed a weaker character in a higher ionic strength. For the other strains, no expression of the donor trait was obtained at higher ionic strength. In a suspension with a concentration of 10⁻³ KNO₃, only two strains expressed an electron acceptor character. This character is very important for strains A49, A57, A58, A60, A63, and A65 at 10⁻¹MKNO₃. This work has shown that these properties vary greatly depending on the Streptomyces strain. It is important to consider the change in physicochemical properties of surface cells with ionic strength when using Streptomyces in different bioprocesses.

Electrostatic charge significantly influences microorganism–surface interactions, including viral adhesion and transmission. While bacterial surface charges are well characterized using electrophoretic mobility and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), similar studies for viruses are limited. This work bridges the gap by estimating the negative surface charge of the Phi6 bacteriophage using XPS data. A novel approach is applied, combining chemical functionalities derived from XPS with a system of equations to quantify surface polysaccharides, proteins, hydrocarbons, and negatively charged groups (RCOO⁻ and R₂PO₄⁻). The results indicate a predominance of proteins on the viral surface and a pH-dependent negative charge: phosphate groups dominate at low pH (1–3), while both groups contribute equally at pH 4–9. These findings provide a deeper understanding of virus–surface interactions and underscore the importance of pH in modulating viral surface charge. This method, which surpasses traditional electrophoretic mobility techniques, offers new perspectives for studying viral adhesion and developing improved antiviral materials and disinfection strategies.