A Selection of Platforms to Evaluate Surface Adhesion and Biofilm Formation in Controlled Hydrodynamic Conditions
LEPABE—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
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Academic Editor: James Garnett
Microorganisms 2021, 9(9), 1993; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091993
Received: 7 August 2021
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Revised: 14 September 2021
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Accepted: 17 September 2021
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Published: 21 September 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Films-the Interplay of Physics and Biology)
The early colonization of surfaces and subsequent biofilm development have severe impacts in environmental, industrial, and biomedical settings since they entail high costs and health risks. To develop more effective biofilm control strategies, there is a need to obtain laboratory biofilms that resemble those found in natural or man-made settings. Since microbial adhesion and biofilm formation are strongly affected by hydrodynamics, the knowledge of flow characteristics in different marine, food processing, and medical device locations is essential. Once the hydrodynamic conditions are known, platforms for cell adhesion and biofilm formation should be selected and operated, in order to obtain reproducible biofilms that mimic those found in target scenarios. This review focuses on the most widely used platforms that enable the study of initial microbial adhesion and biofilm formation under controlled hydrodynamic conditions—modified Robbins devices, flow chambers, rotating biofilm devices, microplates, and microfluidic devices—and where numerical simulations have been used to define relevant flow characteristics, namely the shear stress and shear rate.
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Keywords:
biofilm; microbial adhesion; hydrodynamics; shear stress; shear rate; computational fluid dynamics; flow systems; microplates
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gomes, L.C.; Mergulhão, F.J.M. A Selection of Platforms to Evaluate Surface Adhesion and Biofilm Formation in Controlled Hydrodynamic Conditions. Microorganisms 2021, 9, 1993. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091993
AMA Style
Gomes LC, Mergulhão FJM. A Selection of Platforms to Evaluate Surface Adhesion and Biofilm Formation in Controlled Hydrodynamic Conditions. Microorganisms. 2021; 9(9):1993. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091993
Chicago/Turabian StyleGomes, Luciana C., and Filipe J.M. Mergulhão. 2021. "A Selection of Platforms to Evaluate Surface Adhesion and Biofilm Formation in Controlled Hydrodynamic Conditions" Microorganisms 9, no. 9: 1993. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9091993
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