title: Protocol for biofilm streamer formation in a microfluidic device with micro-pillars.
abstract: Several bacterial species possess the ability to attach to surfaces and colonize them in the form of thin films called biofilms. Biofilms that grow in porous media are relevant to several industrial and environmental processes such as wastewater treatment and CO2 sequestration. We used Pseudomonas fluorescens, a Gram-negative aerobic bacterium, to investigate biofilm formation in a microfluidic device that mimics porous media. The microfluidic device consists of an array of micro-posts, which were fabricated using soft-lithography. Subsequently, biofilm formation in these devices with flow was investigated and we demonstrate the formation of filamentous biofilms known as streamers in our device. The detailed protocols for fabrication and assembly of microfluidic device are provided here along with the bacterial culture protocols. Detailed procedures for experimentation with the microfluidic device are also presented along with representative results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Mahtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hassanpourfard
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valiei
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University.
authors.forename: Partha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thundat
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta; aloke.kumar@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Aloke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000502:physiology*