Thoughts about biofilm in dialysis water systems.
What is a biofilm? Basically, a biofilm is formed when a structure or a surface has a growth on it. The growth consists of a community of micro-organisms, which is active. Growth means that there are metabolic processes taking place. The amount of organisms can be low, and at the beginning there is always just a few, in principle, just one. The surface area covered can also be very small. This will change over time due to the nutritional situation. In this paper the phenomena of surface growth (biofilm) will be reviewed and commented on.
Nystrand
Rolf
R
Bio-TeQ Nystrand Consulting, Malmö, Sweden. rolf.nystrand@swipnet.se
D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012212:Rheology; D014871:Water Microbiology