title: Living biofouling-resistant membranes as a model for the beneficial use of engineered biofilms.
abstract: Membrane systems are used increasingly for water treatment, recycling water from wastewater, during food processing, and energy production. They thus are a key technology to ensure water, energy, and food sustainability. However, biofouling, the build-up of microbes and their polymeric matrix, clogs these systems and reduces their efficiency. Realizing that a microbial film is inevitable, we engineered a beneficial biofilm that prevents membrane biofouling, limiting its own thickness by sensing the number of its cells that are present via a quorum-sensing circuit. The beneficial biofilm also prevents biofilm formation by deleterious bacteria by secreting nitric oxide, a general biofilm dispersal agent, as demonstrated by both short-term dead-end filtration and long-term cross-flow filtration tests. In addition, the beneficial biofilm was engineered to produce an epoxide hydrolase so that it efficiently removes the environmental pollutant epichlorohydrin. Thus, we have created a living biofouling-resistant membrane system that simultaneously reduces biofouling and provides a platform for biodegradation of persistent organic pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Thammajun L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Rajarshi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guha
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geitner
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; manish.kumar@psu.edu tuw14@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 manish.kumar@psu.edu tuw14@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6258-529X
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms; D057219:Biofouling; D004811:Epichlorohydrin / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005374:Filtration; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D004811:Epichlorohydrin; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: biofilm dispersal; biofouling; membranes; nitric oxide; synthetic circuit