title: Bacterial repopulation of drinking water pipe walls after chlorination.
abstract: The short-term kinetics of bacterial repopulation were evaluated after chlorination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) colonized with drinking water biofilms and compared with bare HDPE surfaces. The effect of chlorination was partial as a residual biofilm persisted and was time-limited as repopulation occurred immediately after water resupply. The total number of bacteria reached the same levels on both the bare and chlorinated biofilm-fouled HDPE after a seven-day exposure to drinking water. Due to the presence of a residual biofilm, the hydrophobicity of chlorinated biofilm-fouled surface exhibited much lower adhesion forces (2.1 nN) compared to bare surfaces (8.9 nN). This could explain the rapid repopulation after chlorination, with a twofold faster bacterial accumulation rate on the bare HDPE surface. γ-Proteobacteria dominated the early stages of repopulation of both surfaces and a shift in the dominance occurred over the colonization time. Such observations define a timescale for cleaning frequency in industrial environments and guidelines for a rinsing procedure using drinking water.
authors.affiliation: a EPHE , PSL Research University, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement, LCPME , UMR 7564 , Nancy , France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.affiliation: b CNRS and Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement, LCPME , UMR 7564 , Nancy , France.
authors.forename: Grégory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Francius
authors.affiliation: b CNRS and Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement, LCPME , UMR 7564 , Nancy , France.
authors.forename: Racha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: El Zein
authors.affiliation: a EPHE , PSL Research University, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement, LCPME , UMR 7564 , Nancy , France.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Angel
authors.affiliation: b CNRS and Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique et Microbiologie pour l'Environnement, LCPME , UMR 7564 , Nancy , France.
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Block
mesh_terms: D058491:Bacterial Load; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D002713:Chlorine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D020563:Gammaproteobacteria / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D054879:Halogenation; D007700:Kinetics; D020959:Polyethylene / Q000737:chemistry*; D014871:Water Microbiology / Q000592:standards; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D002713:Chlorine; D020959:Polyethylene
keywords: AFM; Drinking water biofilm; Proteobacteria; bacteria repopulation; chlorination