Effect of divalent ions and a polyphosphate on composition, structure, and stiffness of simulated drinking water biofilms.

ABSTRACT: The biofilm chemical and physical properties in engineered systems play an important role in governing pathogen transmission, fouling facilities, and corroding metal surfaces. Here, we investigated how simulated drinking water biofilm chemical composition, structure, and stiffness responded to the common scale control practice of adjusting divalent ions and adding polyphosphate. Magnetomotive optical coherence elastography (MM-OCE), a tool developed for diagnosing diseased tissues, was used to determine biofilm stiffness in this study. MM-OCE, together with atomic force microscopy (AFM), revealed that the biofilms developed from a drinking water source with high divalent ions were stiffer compared to biofilms developed either from the drinking water source with low divalent ions or the wat

SUBMITTER: Shen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6052100 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature