title: Antifouling activity of enzyme-functionalized silica nanobeads.
abstract: The amelioration of biofouling in industrial processing equipment is critical for performance and reliability. While conventional biocides are effective in biofouling control, they are potentially hazardous to the environment and in some cases corrosive to materials. Enzymatic approaches have been shown to be effective and can overcome the disadvantages of traditional biocides, however they are typically uneconomic for routine biofouling control. The aim of this study was to design a robust and reusable enzyme-functionalized nano-bead system having biofilm dispersion properties. This work describes the biochemical covalent functionalization of silica-based nanobeads (hereafter referred to as Si-NanoB) with Proteinase K (PK). Results showed that PK-functionalized Si-NanoB are effective in dispersing both protein-based model biofilms and structurally altering Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms, with significant decreases in surface coverage and thickness of 30.1% and 38.85%, respectively, while increasing surface roughness by 19 % following 24 h treatments on bacterial biofilms. This study shows that enzyme-functionalized nanobeads may potentially be an environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative to pure enzyme and chemical treatments.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Habimana
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amadio
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland. eoin.casey@ucd.ie.
authors.forename: Eoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casey
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D019286:Endopeptidase K / Q000378:metabolism*; D053758:Nanoparticles; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D019286:Endopeptidase K
keywords: antifouling; biofilm; enzyme; nanoparticles