STUDY OF A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF BIOCIDE EFFECT ON A BIOFILM ISOLATED FROM A COOLING SYSTEM USING THE MICROTITER PLATE

Bacterial colonization on metal surfaces and their metabolic activities lead to biocorrosion. In fact, any agent removing the biofilm or decreasing its thickness is capable of preventing biocorrosion. Biocides make up one such agent. These agents can control bacterial biofilms, remove these structures, or kill cells within them. The object of this research is to study the thermodynamic model of biocide penetration into the biofilm using the microtiter plate test. First, the biofilm bacteria were isolated to form a mix- bacterial biofilm. The biocide effect on the mix-biofilm was then determined using the microtiter plate test. Results from this test were compared with those from a thermodynamic model and it was revealed that the effects of oxidizing biocides such as sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide are in good agreement with the results from the model. The results indicated that increased biocide concentration leads to the removal of the biofilm or to the kill-off of the cells within it. However, in the case of non-oxidizing biocides such as sulfathiazol, glutaraldehyde, and alkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, the efficiency results did not agree well with the results from the thermodynamic model such that increased biocide concentration did not remove the biofilm nor did it kill off the cells within it