Simmons, Hilary (1988) Establishment and analysis of bacterial biofilm subjected to fluid flow under varying nutrient conditions. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The main aim of the project was to study the effect of
flow rate (shear stress), under different nutrient conditions
on pre-attached bacterial biofilms. The combined effect of
flow rate and nutrient supply had not previously been systematically
studied, and the relationship between physiological
activity, attachment and detachment, growth at a surface, and
flow rate appeared to be very complex.
Special experimental flow rigs were built for this
project. Thin biofilms (monolayers of cells) were attached
to test sections and these were placed in the flow rig. The
biofilms were then subjected to different shear stresses at
a known glucose concentration. The numbers of cells were
small compared to the total volume of medium in the flow
rig, and so the change in the substrate concentration during
an experiment was insignificant. Radiotracers could therefore
be used to measure substrate assimilation at various
flow rates and substrate concentrations.
It was hoped to produce a model which would explain the
experimental data which was obtained, and assess how flow
rate influences biofilm development and substrate uptake.
However, the experimental results suggest that flow rate haslittle
influence on glucose uptake by Pseudomonas
fluorescens (the species used for this work), and that
glucose uptake at various flow rates depends only upon the
glucose concentration present in the medium. It is possible
that the explanation for this lies in the complex mechanism
of glucose catabolism which is reported for this species.
A considerable part of this project was spent in
establishing appropriate experimental techniques in order to
make the required measurements for analysis of the biofilms
in the flow rig.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	Q Science > QR Microbiology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Biofilms, Bacteria -- Physiology, Pseudomonas fluorescens -- Metabolism
Official Date:	September 1988
Dates:	Date Event September 1988 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Biological Sciences
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Fletcher, Madilyn ; Duddridge, J. ; Kelly, D. P. (Don P.) ; Pugh, S. Y. R.
Sponsors:	Science and Engineering Research Council (Great Britain) (SERC) ; Harwell Laboratory (Oxfordshire, England)
Extent:	xiv, 207 p.
Language:	eng

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