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Casey, Eoin
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Casey, Eoin
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Casey, Eoin
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 45
- PublicationBiofilm Development in a Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor: Effect of Flow Velocity on PerformanceThe effect of liquid flow velocity on biofilm development in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor was investigated both by mathematical modeling and by experiment, using Vibrio natriegens as a test organism and acetate as carbon substrate. It was shown that velocity influenced mass transfer in the diffusion boundary layer, the biomass detachment rate from the biofilm, and the maximum biofilm thickness attained. Values of the overall mass transfer coefficient of a tracer through the diffusion boundary layer, the biofilm, and the membrane were shown to be identical during different experiments at the maximum biofilm thickness. Comparison of the results with published values of this parameter in membrane attached biofilms showed a similar trend. Therefore, it was postulated that this result might indicate the mechanism that determines the maximum biofilm thickness in membrane attached biofilms. In a series of experiments, where conditions were set so that the active layer of the membrane attached biofilm was located close to the membrane biofilm interface, it was shown that the most critical effect on process performance was the effect of velocity on biofilm structure. Biofilm thickness and effective diffusivity influenced reaction and diffusion in a complex manner such that the yield of biomass on acetate was highly variable. Consideration of endogenous respiration in the mathematical model was validated by direct experimental measurements of yield coefficients. Good agreement between experimental measurements of acetate and oxygen uptake rates and their prediction by the mathematical model was achieved.
735Scopus© Citations 65 - PublicationCharacterisitics of Streptomyces griseus biofilms in continuous flow tubular reactorsThe purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of cultivating the biotechnologically important bacterium Streptomyces griseus in single-species and mixed- species biofilms using a Tubular Biofilm Reactor (TBR). Streptomyces griseus biofilm development was found to be cyclical, starting with the initial adhesion and subsequent development of a visible biofilm after 24 hours growth, followed by the complete detachment of the biofilm as a single mass, and ending with the re-colonization of the tube. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that the filamentous structure of the biofilm was lost upon treatment with protease, but not DNase or metaperiodate, indicating that the extracellular polymeric substance is predominantly protein. When the biofilm was cultivated in conjunction with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, no detachment was observed after 96 h, although once subjected to flow detachment occurred. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of both bacteria in the biofilm and revealed a network of fimbriae-like structures that were much less apparent in single-species biofilm, and are likely to increase mechanical stability when developing in a TBR. This study presents the very first attempt in engineering Streptomyces griseus biofilms for continuous bioprocess applications.
880Scopus© Citations 15 - PublicationStudies on the effect of concentration of a self-inhibitory substrate on biofilm reaction rate under co-diffusion and counter diffusion configurationsA simple mathematical model was developed to investigate the utilization rate of a self-inhibitory substrate in idealised biofilm reactors operating with either counter-diffusion or co-diffusion of oxygen and phenol. This study has implications for the development of membrane-supported biofilm technologies, such as the membrane-aerated biofilm reactor. An unsteady-state formulation of the model was used to investigate the effect of shock loads of phenol on biofilm performance. It was found that the counter-diffusion configuration may be advantageous under high phenol concentrations provided the biofilm thickness is above a critical value. The performance advantage of the counter-diffusion configuration is gained by the presence of an oxygen depleted layer, adjacent to the liquid–biofilm interface which acts as a diffusive barrier to phenol transport to the region of respiratory activity.
380Scopus© Citations 12 - PublicationModel-based comparative performance analysis of membrane aerated biofilm reactor configurationsThe potential of the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) for high-rate bio-oxidation was investigated. A reaction-diffusion model was combined with a preliminary hollow-fiber MABR process model to investigate reaction rate-limiting regime and to perform comparative analysis on prospective designs and operational parameters. High oxidation fluxes can be attained in the MABR if the intra-membrane oxygen pressure is sufficiently high, however the volumetric oxidation rate is highly dependent on the membrane specific surface area and therefore the maximum performance, in volumetric terms, was achieved in MABRs with relatively thin fibers. The results show that unless the carbon substrate concentration is particularly high, there does not appear to be an advantage to be gained by designing MABRs on the basis of thick biofilms even if oxygen limitations can be overcome.
788Scopus© Citations 37 - PublicationBacterial adhesion onto nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes: Effect of permeate fluxThe influence of permeate flux on bacterial adhesion to NF and RO membranes was examined using two model Pseudomonas species, namely Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida. To better understand the initial biofouling profile during NF/RO processes, deposition experiments were conducted in cross flow under permeate flux varying from 0.5 up to 120 L/(h m2), using six NF and RO membranes each having different surface properties. All experiments were performed at a Reynolds number of 579. Complementary adhesion experiments were performed using Pseudomonas cells grown to early-, mid- and late-exponential growth phases to evaluate the effect of bacterial cell surface properties during cell adhesion under permeate flux conditions. Results from this study show that initial bacterial adhesion is strongly dependent on the permeate flux conditions, where increased adhesion was obtained with increased permeate flux, until a maximum of 40% coverage was reached. Membrane surface properties or bacterial growth stages was further found to have little impact on bacterial adhesion to NF and RO membrane surfaces under the conditions tested. These results emphasise the importance of conducting adhesion and biofouling experiments under realistic permeate flux conditions, and raises questions about the efficacy of the methods for the evaluation of antifouling membranes in which bacterial adhesion is commonly assessed under zero-flux or low flux conditions, unrepresentative of full-scale NF/RO processes.
488Scopus© Citations 20 - PublicationEnhancing curcumin's solubility and antibiofilm activity via silica surface modification(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020-03-20)
; ; ; ; ; Bacterial biofilms are microbial communities in which bacterial cells in sessile state are mechanically andchemically protected against foreign agents, thus enhancing antibiotic resistance. The delivery of activecompounds to the inside of biofilms is often hindered due to the existence of the biofilm extracellularpolymeric substances (EPS) and to the poor solubility of drugs and antibiotics. A possible strategy toovercome the EPS barrier is the incorporation of antimicrobial agents into a nanocarrier, able topenetrate the matrix and deliver the active substance to the cells. Here, we report the synthesis ofantimicrobial curcumin-conjugated silica nanoparticles (curc-NPs) as a possibility for dealing with theseissues. Curcumin is a known antimicrobial agent and to overcome its low solubility in water it wasgrafted onto the surface of silica nanoparticles, the latter functioning as nanocarrier for curcumin intothe biofilm. Curc-NPs were able to impede the formation of modelP. putidabiofilms up to 50% anddisrupt mature biofilms up to 54% at 2.5 mg mL 1. Cell viability of sessile cells in both cases was alsoconsiderably affected, which is not observed for curcumin delivered as a free compound at the sameconcentration. Furthermore, proteomics of extracted EPS matrix of biofilms grown in the presence offree curcumin and curc-NPs revealed differences in the expression of key proteins related to celldetoxification and energy production. Therefore, curc-NPs are presented here as an alternative forcurcumin delivery that can be exploited not only to other bacterial strains but also to further biologicalapplications.181Scopus© Citations 20 - PublicationTailoring Nanoparticle-Biofilm Interactions to Increase the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Agents Against Staphylococcus aureus(Dove Medical Press, 2020-07-07)
; ; ; ; ; Background: Considering the timeline required for the development of novel antimicrobial drugs, increased attention should be given to repurposing old drugs and improving anti-microbial efficacy, particularly for chronic infections associated with biofilms. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are common causes of biofilm-associated infections but produce different biofilm matrices.MSSA biofilm cells are typically embedded in an extracellular polysaccharide matrix, whereas MRSA biofilms comprise predominantly of surface proteins and extracellular DNA (eDNA). Nanoparticles (NPs) have the potential to enhance the delivery of antimicro-bial agents into biofilms. However, the mechanisms which influence the interactions between NPs and the biofilm matrix are not yet fully understood. Methods:To investigate the influence of NPs surface chemistry on vancomycin (VAN) encapsulation and NP entrapment in MRSA and MSSA biofilms, mesoporous silica nano-particles (MSNs) with different surface functionalization (bare-B, amine-D, carboxyl-C,aromatic-A) were synthesised using an adapted Stöber method. The antibacterial efficacy of VAN-loaded MSNs was assessed against MRSA and MSSA biofilms. Results: The two negatively charged MSNs (MSN-B and MSN-C) showed a higher VAN loading in comparison to the positively charged MSNs (MSN-D and MSN-A). Cellular binding with MSN suspensions (0.25 mg mL−1) correlated with the reduced viability of both MSSA andMRSA biofilm cells. This allowed the administration of low MSNs concentrations while maintaining a high local concentration of the antibiotic surrounding the bacterial cells. Conclusion: Our data suggest that by tailoring the surface functionalization of MSNs,enhanced bacterial cell targeting can be achieved, leading to a novel treatment strategy for biofilm infections.110Scopus© Citations 27 - PublicationDetachment characteristics of a mixed culture biofilm using particle size analysisDetachment 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.
765Scopus© Citations 22 - PublicationFilamentous fungal biofilm for production of human drug metabolites(2013-07)
; ; In drug development, access to drug metabolites is essential for assessment of toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies. Metabolites are usually acquired via chemical synthesis, although biological production is potentially more efficient with fewer waste management issues. A significant problem with the biological approach is the effective half-life of the biocatalyst, which can be resolved by immobilisation. The fungus Cunninghamella elegans is well established as a model of mammalian metabolism, although it has not yet been used to produce metabolites on a large scale. Here, we describe immobilisation of C. elegans as a biofilm, which can transform drugs to important human metabolites. The biofilm was cultivated on hydrophilic microtiter plates and in shake flasks containing a steel spring in contact with the glass. Fluorescence and confocal scanning laser microscopy revealed that the biofilm was composed of a dense network of hyphae, and biochemical analysis demonstrated that the matrix was predominantly polysaccharide. The medium composition was crucial for both biofilm formation and biotransformation of flurbiprofen. In shake flasks, the biofilm transformed 86% of the flurbiprofen added to hydroxylated metabolites within 24 h, which was slightly more than planktonic cultures (76%). The biofilm had a longer effective lifetime than the planktonic cells, which underwent lysis after 2×72 h cycles, and diluting the Sabouraud dextrose broth enabled the thickness of the biofilm to be controlled while retaining transformation efficiency. Thus, C. elegans biofilm has the potential to be applied as a robust biocatalyst for the production of human drug metabolites required for drug development.548Scopus© Citations 21 - PublicationTreatment of fluoroacetate by a Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilm grown in membrane aerated biofilm reactorFluorinated organic compounds have widespread applications, and their accumulation in the environment is a concern. Biofilm reactors are an effective technology for the treatment of contaminated wastewater, yet almost no research has been conducted on the effectiveness of biofilms for the biodegradation of fluorinated aliphatic compounds. In this paper we describe experiments undertaken to investigate the degradation of fluoroacetate using a membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) by Pseudomonas fluorescens DSM8341. The concentration of fluoroacetate in the medium influenced biofilm structure, with less dense biofilm observed at lower fluoroacetate loading rates. As biofilm thickness increased, oxygen utilization decreased, probably as a consequence of increased resistance to oxygen transfer. Furthermore, most of the biofilm was anaerobic, since oxygen penetration depth was less than 1000 μm. Biofilm performance, in terms of fluoroacetate removal efficiency, was improved by decreasing the fluoroacetate loading rate, however increasing the intramembrane oxygen pressure had little effect on biofilm performance. A mathematical model showed that while fluoroacetate does not penetrate the entire biofilm, the defluorination intermediate metabolite glycolate does, and consequently the biofilm was not carbon limited at the biofilm−membrane interface where oxygen concentrations were highest. The model also showed the accumulation of the free fluoride ion within the biofilm. Overflow metabolism of glycolate was identified to be most likely a result of a combination of oxygen limitation and free fluoride ion inhibition. The study demonstrated the potential of MABR for treating wastewater streams contaminated with organofluorine compounds.
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