Publikation: Influence of wettability and surface design on the adhesion of terrestrial cyanobacteria to additive manufactured biocarriers

Das Lehrgebiet ist Co-Autor bei der Publikation "Influence of wettability and surface design on the adhesion of terrestrial cyanobacteria to additive manufactured biocarriers" in der Zeitschrift Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering.

Productive biofilms are gaining growing interest in research due to their potential of producing valuable compounds and bioactive substances such as antibiotics. This is supported by recent developments in biofilm photobioreactors that established the controlled phototrophic cultivation of algae and cyanobacteria. Cultivation of biofilms can be challenging due to the need of surfaces for biofilm adhesion. The total production of biomass, and thus production of e.g. bioactive substances, within the bioreactor volume highly depends on the available cultivation surface. To achieve an enlargement of surface area for biofilm photobioreactors, biocarriers can be implemented in the cultivation. Thereby, material properties and design of the biocarriers are important for initial biofilm formation and growth of cyanobacteria. In this study, special biocarriers were designed and additively manufactured to investigate different polymeric materials and surface designs regarding biofilm adhesion of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme (CCAP 1453/33). Properties of 3D-printed materials were characterized by determination of wettability, surface roughness, and density. To evaluate the influence of wettability on biofilm formation, material properties were specifically modified by gas-phase fluorination and biofilm formation was analyzed on biocarriers with basic and optimized geometry in shaking flask cultivation.

K. Scherer, W. Soerjawinata, S. Schaefer, I. Kockler, R. Ulber, M. Lakatos, U. Bröckel, P. Kampeis, M. Wahl; Influence of wettability and surface design on the adhesion of terrestrial cyanobacteria to additive manufactured biocarriers; Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering; im Druck