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Buzz off! An evaluation of ultrasonic acoustic vibration for the disruption of marine micro-organisms on sensor-housing materials

Buzz off! An evaluation of ultrasonic acoustic vibration for the disruption of marine micro-organisms on sensor-housing materials
Buzz off! An evaluation of ultrasonic acoustic vibration for the disruption of marine micro-organisms on sensor-housing materials
Biofouling is a process of ecological succession which begins with the attachment and colonization of micro-organisms to a submerged surface. For marine sensors and their housings, biofouling can be one of the principle limitations to long-term deployment and reliability. Conventional antibiofouling strategies using biocides can be hazardous to the environment, and therefore alternative chemical-free methods are preferred. In this study, custom-made testing assemblies were used to evaluate ultrasonic vibration as an antibiofouling process for marine sensor-housing materials over a 28-day time course. Microbial biofouling was measured based on (i) surface coverage, using fluorescence microscopy and (ii) bacterial 16S rDNA gene copies, using Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Ultrasonic vibrations (20 KHz, 200 ms pulses at 2-s intervals; total power 16·08 W) significantly reduced the surface coverage on two plastics, poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for up to 28 days. Bacterial gene copy number was similarly reduced, but the results were only statistically significant for PVC, which displayed the greatest overall resistance to biofouling, regardless of whether ultrasonic vibration was applied. Copper sheet, which has intrinsic biocidal properties was resistant to biofouling during the early stages of the experiment, but inhibited measurements made by PCR and generated inconsistent results later on.
antifouling, biofouling, propidium monoazide, sensor, ultrasonic
0266-8254
393-399
Mcquillan, J.S.
27b1cf86-2d35-45fd-a2ca-d67812177baa
Hopper, D.J.
cd9aa467-dc02-4558-b2eb-4fe22111b3e2
Magiopoulos, I.
f60aebed-dedd-4dc2-92dc-edd24eccec32
Arundell, M.
e24d3405-a436-4d65-a6e4-2939ede79678
Brown, R.
05dae093-368d-42a6-a34e-ca89a61138fb
Shorter, S.
773e484c-8547-40b8-9532-ca312adb5208
Mowlem, M.C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Pascal, R.W.
3b2e2a38-334f-430f-b110-253a0a835a07
Connelly, D.
d49131bb-af38-4768-9953-7ae0b43e33c8
Mcquillan, J.S.
27b1cf86-2d35-45fd-a2ca-d67812177baa
Hopper, D.J.
cd9aa467-dc02-4558-b2eb-4fe22111b3e2
Magiopoulos, I.
f60aebed-dedd-4dc2-92dc-edd24eccec32
Arundell, M.
e24d3405-a436-4d65-a6e4-2939ede79678
Brown, R.
05dae093-368d-42a6-a34e-ca89a61138fb
Shorter, S.
773e484c-8547-40b8-9532-ca312adb5208
Mowlem, M.C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Pascal, R.W.
3b2e2a38-334f-430f-b110-253a0a835a07
Connelly, D.
d49131bb-af38-4768-9953-7ae0b43e33c8

Mcquillan, J.S., Hopper, D.J., Magiopoulos, I., Arundell, M., Brown, R., Shorter, S., Mowlem, M.C., Pascal, R.W. and Connelly, D. (2016) Buzz off! An evaluation of ultrasonic acoustic vibration for the disruption of marine micro-organisms on sensor-housing materials. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 63 (6), 393-399. (doi:10.1111/lam.12671).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Biofouling is a process of ecological succession which begins with the attachment and colonization of micro-organisms to a submerged surface. For marine sensors and their housings, biofouling can be one of the principle limitations to long-term deployment and reliability. Conventional antibiofouling strategies using biocides can be hazardous to the environment, and therefore alternative chemical-free methods are preferred. In this study, custom-made testing assemblies were used to evaluate ultrasonic vibration as an antibiofouling process for marine sensor-housing materials over a 28-day time course. Microbial biofouling was measured based on (i) surface coverage, using fluorescence microscopy and (ii) bacterial 16S rDNA gene copies, using Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Ultrasonic vibrations (20 KHz, 200 ms pulses at 2-s intervals; total power 16·08 W) significantly reduced the surface coverage on two plastics, poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for up to 28 days. Bacterial gene copy number was similarly reduced, but the results were only statistically significant for PVC, which displayed the greatest overall resistance to biofouling, regardless of whether ultrasonic vibration was applied. Copper sheet, which has intrinsic biocidal properties was resistant to biofouling during the early stages of the experiment, but inhibited measurements made by PCR and generated inconsistent results later on.

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McQuillan et al_2016_for production editor.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 15 September 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 November 2016
Published date: 1 December 2016
Keywords: antifouling, biofouling, propidium monoazide, sensor, ultrasonic
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science, Marine Geoscience, Ocean Technology and Engineering

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 402556
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/402556
ISSN: 0266-8254
PURE UUID: 27a5cab5-9728-4392-bebc-00795f9ae2e3
ORCID for M.C. Mowlem: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7613-6121

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Date deposited: 10 Nov 2016 10:57
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:08

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Contributors

Author: J.S. Mcquillan
Author: D.J. Hopper
Author: I. Magiopoulos
Author: M. Arundell
Author: R. Brown
Author: S. Shorter
Author: M.C. Mowlem ORCID iD
Author: R.W. Pascal
Author: D. Connelly

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