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Overview
Biofilms are communities of microbes. Together they produce a sticky slime that glues their cells together and cements them to a variety of surfaces. The slime enables biofilms to form elaborate multi-cellular structures, often with water-filled channels that bring food to the resident cells and carry away toxic waste materials. Living in slime-encased biofilms is […]
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Biofilm structure and surrounding matrix – Aquatic
It is worth explaining the difference between mico fouling, such as that which occurs within the human body, and macro fouling, such as that which occurs on ships hulls after being submersed in seawater for an extended period of time. When a surface is put underwater, in a matter of minutes or hours a conditioning […]
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Biofilm structure and surrounding matrix
The ability of microbes to attach to a surface and make that first step in the development of a biofilm is affected by what particles are already coating that surface. The presence of organic or inorganic particles (known as a conditioning film) on a surface enhances attachment of the first microbes arriving and beginning to […]