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Performance of anti-biofouling coatings under variable and dynamic process conditions Faculty Mentor: Leslie M. Shor, PhD Asst. Prof, Chem & Biomolecular Engineering University of Connecticut Storrs CT Industrial Mentor: Yoram Barak, PhD Group Leader - Fine Chemicals & Biocatalysis Research, BASF Inc., Tarrytown NY Overview. Microbial growth on implanted medical devices is a major cause of implant failure. Bacteria will often grow on solid surfaces encased in a hydrated polymer matrix called a biofilm. Bacteria in a biofilm require antimicrobials to be applied at 10, 100, or 1000 times the concentration required in liquid suspension to achieve similar results, if eradication can be achieved at all. Well-established biofilms on implants require surgical removal, and biofilm infections of the heart and lungs are often fatal. Anti-biofilm or anti-biofouling products are big business. However, because biofilms are so difficult to eradicate, much industrial anti-biofouling research is focused on how to prevent the formation of a biofilm in the first place. BASF produces many surface coatings and anti-biofouling compounds. However, usually coatings or compounds are tested under very simplified process conditions, such as a flat, smooth coupon tested under stirred batch or constant-velocity flow cell conditions. BASF and the Shor research lab are initiating a new collaboration to develop test systems to study anti-boufouling products under more realistic geometries and process conditions. Technology already under development in the Shor lab includes flow cells that permit dynamic operation and real-time observation of bacterial attachment, biofilm development, or time-dependent eradication of a biofilm. New work will also add the capability to study effectiveness of coatings or agents on biofouling of surfaces with complex geometries, or under dynamic or variable flow conditions. Undergraduate Participant Responsibilities & Benefits. The REU student will work alongside Dr. Shor and PhD students in the Shor lab. The student will design and construct microfluidic flow cells for real-time observation of bacterial attachment and biofouling. He or she will learn computer aided design, elements of photolithography and soft lithography for making microfluidic devices, and computer multiphysics simulation with COMSOL. The student will also learn to work with microbial cultures, and collect information with quantitative light microscopy. Meanwhile, experts in the BASF white biotechnology and microbiology research center in Tarrytown NY will collaborate and provide materials to be used in anti-boufouling testing. Figure 1. Photolithography techniques are used to create microfluidic flow cells where biofouling can be studied for complex geometries and with complex and dynamic process conditions. A. A silicon wafer with a 40 µm-thick layer of photo-crosslinked epoxy with 10- to 100- µm features. From this mold, multiple exact replicas can be cast and used for study. B and C. Because the geometry is fixed, flow conditions can be simulated in detail, and compared exactly with experiments performed under the exact same geometry. D. Here we show fluorescenceexpressing bacteria forming biofilm-like colonies in a microstructured flow cell under complex flow conditions. A D C B C D