FUNCTIONALIZED NANO-MICROSTRUCTURES TO COMBAT BIOFOULING OF INDUSTRIAL SURFACES

Biofilm formation is a strategy that bacteria use in order to survive in hostile environments, causing serious problems in the food industry, cooling water systems, medical equipment, etc. [1]. The control and destruction of undesirable biofilms often includes the use of chemical products with antimicrobial properties like biocides and surfactants. However, these substances can be considered harmful for the environment and consequently should be used in as small quantities as possible. The goal of the work is to develop a novel procedure for biofilm control based on the transport of antimicrobial compounds on nano-microparticles or capsules. In this study, the efficacy of the method against suspended cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens was assessed, using benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride (BDMDAC), which is a surfactant belonging to the family of benzalkonium chloride, as a biocide carried on microparticles (diameter: 4 µm). The latter were prepared using the layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL) technique [2]. The oppositely charged polyethyleneimine (PEI), sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) and BDMDAC were assembled on polystyrene (PS) cores (Figure 1). The BDMDAC coated particles were observed by CryoSEM and their composition by X-ra