Faria Sara I, Teixeira-Santos Rita, Romeu Maria J, Morais João, Jong Ed de, Sjollema Jelmer, Vasconcelos Vítor, Mergulhão Filipe J
LEPABE-Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
CIIMAR-Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Avenida General Norton de Matos, S/N, 4450-208 Matosinhos, Portugal.
Microorganisms. 2021 May 20;9(5):1102. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9051102.
Since biofilm formation by microfoulers significantly contributes to the fouling process, it is important to evaluate the performance of marine surfaces to prevent biofilm formation, as well as understand their interactions with microfoulers and how these affect biofilm development and structure. In this study, the long-term performance of five surface materials-glass, perspex, polystyrene, epoxy-coated glass, and a silicone hydrogel coating-in inhibiting biofilm formation by cyanobacteria was evaluated. For this purpose, cyanobacterial biofilms were developed under controlled hydrodynamic conditions typically found in marine environments, and the biofilm cell number, wet weight, chlorophyll content, and biofilm thickness and structure were assessed after 49 days. In order to obtain more insight into the effect of surface properties on biofilm formation, they were characterized concerning their hydrophobicity and roughness. Results demonstrated that silicone hydrogel surfaces were effective in inhibiting cyanobacterial biofilm formation. In fact, biofilms formed on these surfaces showed a lower number of biofilm cells, chlorophyll content, biofilm thickness, and percentage and size of biofilm empty spaces compared to remaining surfaces. Additionally, our results demonstrated that the surface properties, together with the features of the fouling microorganisms, have a considerable impact on marine biofouling potential.
由于微小污损生物形成生物膜对污损过程有显著影响，因此评估海洋表面防止生物膜形成的性能，以及了解它们与微小污损生物的相互作用以及这些如何影响生物膜的发育和结构非常重要。在本研究中，评估了五种表面材料——玻璃、有机玻璃、聚苯乙烯、环氧涂层玻璃和硅水凝胶涂层——抑制蓝藻形成生物膜的长期性能。为此，在通常在海洋环境中发现的受控水动力条件下培养蓝藻生物膜，并在49天后评估生物膜的细胞数量、湿重、叶绿素含量以及生物膜厚度和结构。为了更深入了解表面性质对生物膜形成的影响，对它们的疏水性和粗糙度进行了表征。结果表明，硅水凝胶表面能有效抑制蓝藻生物膜的形成。事实上，与其他表面相比，在这些表面上形成的生物膜显示出生物膜细胞数量、叶绿素含量、生物膜厚度以及生物膜空隙的百分比和大小更低。此外，我们的结果表明，表面性质以及污损微生物的特性对海洋污损潜力有相当大的影响。
