A microfluidic gradient mixer ‐flow chamber as a new tool to study biofilm development under defined solute gradients

In this study, we report a new biofilm growth system that integrates a microfluidic gradient mixer with a biofilm growth chamber and demonstrate its applicability to study the development of biofilms under defined solute gradients. AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics of biofilm development in response to chemical cues and signals is required toward the development of controllable biofilm ‐mediated bioprocesses. In this study, we report a new biofilm growth system that integrates a microfluidic gradient mixer with a biofilm growth chamber. The biofilm growth system allows biofilms to grow under defined solute gradients and enables nondestructive monitoring of the biofilm developmen t dynamics in response to the defined gradients. The solute gradients generated in the system were simulated and then validated experimentally. We then demonstrated the applicability of the biofilm growth system in studying biofilm development under defined solute gradients. Specifically, we examine d biofilm development ofShewanella oneidensis andComamonas testosteroni under a defined calcium and nitrate gradient, respectively. Using twoC. testosteroni strains (WDL7 and I2), we further demonstrated the applicability of our biofilm growth system to study the development of coculture biofilms under a defined solute gradient. Our results show that the biofilm growth system we have developed here can be a promising tool to reveal the dynamics of biofilm development in response to chemical cues and sig...
Source: Biotechnology and Bioengineering - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tags: ARTICLE Source Type: research