海洋環境用のバイオフィルム耐性ガラスを開発(UMass Amherst-led Team Creates Biofilm-resistant Glass for Marine Environments)

2024-04-03

2024-04-02 マサチューセッツ大学アマースト校

マサチューセッツ大学の研究チームが開発したUV放射するガラスは、水中環境で表面にバイオフィルムが98%減少することができる。バイオフィルムは微生物が湿った表面に形成する粘液状の層であり、これが船舶の燃料消費や腐食を引き起こす。この革新的な技術は、UVC放射を利用し、環境への悪影響を最小限に抑えながら、透明な表面の消毒に利用できる可能性がある。

＜関連情報＞

UV発光ガラス：透明表面のバイオフィルム抑制のための有望な戦略 UV emitting glass: A promising strategy for biofilm inhibition on transparent surfaces

Leila Alidokht, Katrina Fitzpatrick, Caitlyn Butler, Kelli Z. Hunsucker, Cierra Braga, William A. Maza, Kenan P. Fears, Marieh Arekhi, Mariana Lanzarini-Lopes
Biofilm Available online:28 February 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioflm.2024.100186

Highlights

•A novel technology was developed for prevention of biofilm formation on glass.

•UV-emitting glass (UEG) irradiates UVC light over ten times more than plain glass.

•UEGs exhibit excellent visible and IR transparency metrics of over 99 %.

•UEG reduced biofilm formation by 98% at a UV dose of 19.56 J/cm².

Abstract

Marine biofouling causes serious environmental problems and has adverse impacts on the maritime industry. Biofouling on windows and optical equipment reduces surface transparency, limiting their application for on-site monitoring or continuous measurement. This work illustrates that UV emitting glasses (UEGs) can prevent the establishment and growth of biofilm on the illuminated surfaces. Specifically, this paper describes how UEGs are enabled by innovatively modifying the surfaces of the glass with light scattering particles. Modification of glass surface with silica nanoparticles at a concentration 26.5 μg/cm² resulted in over ten-fold increase in UV irradiance, while maintaining satisfactory visible and IR transparency metrics of over 99 %. The UEG reduced visible biological growth by 98 % and resulted in a decrease of 1.79 log in detected colony forming units when compared to the control during a 20 day submersion at Port Canaveral, Florida, United States. These findings serve as strong evidence that UV emitting glass should be explored as a promising approach for biofilm inhibition on transparent surfaces.