The influence of hydrogen bubble formation on the removal of Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms from platinum electrode surfaces

Hydrogen bubble formation on the surface of platinum electrodes as a means of removing biofilms was studied. Biofilms of Pseudomonas fluorescens of different ages were grown on platinum electrodes and challenged with hydrogen bubbles formed at the surface of the electrodes, by cycling the potential...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Process biochemistry (1991) 2005-04, Vol.40 (5), p.1815-1821
Main Authors: Gião, Maria Salomé, Montenegro, Maria Irene, Vieira, Maria João
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biofilms
Cyclic voltammetry
Detachment
Hydrogen bubbles
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Hydrogen bubble formation on the surface of platinum electrodes as a means of removing biofilms was studied. Biofilms of Pseudomonas fluorescens of different ages were grown on platinum electrodes and challenged with hydrogen bubbles formed at the surface of the electrodes, by cycling the potential at −2.0 V. The removal of the biofilms from the surfaces was assessed by direct epifluorescence microscopy. The removal of the biofilm from the surface was dependent on the biofilm age. As the biofilm became older, the duration of bubble formation needed to achieve complete removal changed, but in some cases, it was not possible to obtain a completely clean surface. An enhancement of biofilm removal was obtained if the potential was cycled between −0.5 and 1.0 V for 30 min prior to bubble generation, probably due to the weakness of the forces established between the surface and the biofilm and within the biofilm.
ISSN:1359-5113
1873-3298
DOI:10.1016/j.procbio.2004.06.068