QUANTIFICATION OF BIOFILM MORPHOLOGY THROUGH DETERMINATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL AXIS - Developmental axis (DA) are defined as elements within biofilm were accessibility to the bulk medium is the lowest. The method for DA identification uses numeric integration of internal mass transfer differential equations to compute a 3D least diffusion-resistance map (LDM). This method does not require segmentation and yields results that are independent of the original image contrast settings. Local biofilm morphology is accessed through the fractal dimension of developmental axis, Df, a structural parameter that results from scale independence characteristics of the morphology. Df allows identification of regions within the biofilm with geometry geared towards attachment (support), growth and detachment according to its value and the proximity to the Euclidean dimensionality (De) of surface (De=2), lines (De=1) or points (De=0) respectively.