The adhesion energies between pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes EGDe to a model surface of silicon nitride were quantified using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in water for cells grown in pure media (as the control) and in media of four different ionic strengths of added NaCl (IS of 0.05 M, 0.1 M. 0.3 M and 0.5 M NaCl). The physiochemical properties of L. monocytogenes EGDe surface brushes were shown to have a strong influence on the adhesion of the microbe to the silicon nitride surface. The transitions in the adhesion energies, physiochemical properties, and the structure of bacterial surface polyelectrolyte brushes were observed for the cells grown in the media of 0.1 M added NaCl. Our results suggested that the highest long-range electrostatic repulsion which was partially balanced by the Liftshitz-van der Waals attraction for the cells grown at 0.1 M was responsible for the highest energy barrier to adhesion for these cells as predicted by the soft-particle analysis of DLVO theory and the lower adhesion measured by AFM. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.