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Detachment characteristics of a mixed culture biofilm using particle size analysis
Date Issued
2013-07-15
Date Available
2013-06-18T11:54:06Z
Abstract
Detachment is a critically important aspect of biofilm processes; it impacts not only on the characteristics of the biofilm itself but also has general implications for the dissemination of pathogenic bacteria and the operation of biofilm reactors. The mechanisms of biofilm detachment are of fundamental importance in the analysis of biofilm processes. However the complexity of biofilm detachment creates difficulties in performing and analyzing experiments. It is necessary to identify if, under steady conditions, biofilms experiments are reproducible with respect to detachment. In this study mixed culture biofilms were cultivated under low shear conditions over four days in glass flow cells in triplicate under non-recirculation conditions. Detached particles were regularly sampled, were stained, filtered and analyzed using a fluorescence microscope to establish size distributions of detached cells and cell clumps. This study has shown that, despite the existence of a complex particle size distribution, reproducibility is possible in four day old mixed culture biofilms. This has important implications for the study of active or passive detachment in biofilm systems. This study also distinguished between erosion and sloughing following step increases in shear stress.
Sponsorship
Science Foundation Ireland
Other Sponsorship
SFI
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume
228
Issue
15 July 2013
Start Page
1140
End Page
1147
Copyright (Published Version)
2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Web versions
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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