A correlation for the effective strength of Escherichia coli during homogenization.

A new model for high-pressure homogenization has been previously developed. A key model parameter, the mean effective cell strength, can be correlated with average cell length and peptidoglycan cross-linkage. In this article, we develop a correlation for mean effective strength based on a statistical thermodynamic approach to fracture. The final correlation provides an unbiased estimate. While it offers no numerical advantage over a previous empirical correlation, it is based on a modeling approach and an understanding of wall structure. The variable groups are therefore justifiable.