PhD Beyond chlorine: alternative sustainable compounds to remove biofilms in drinking water environments
Topic background - Within Drinking water distribution systems (DWDS), at least 95% of the total microorganisms grows on pipes surfaces, in the form of biofilms. In biofilms, microorganisms produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to form a matrix protecting them from external stresses. Biofilm formation and its detachment into the water stream affects the taste, odour and colour of drinking water, and constitutes a risk for contamination when pathogens are present. Currently, no single practice so far appears to be sufficiently effective for the management of biofilm growth/persistence in DWDS. One of these measures includes the application of disinfectants. Chlorine, the most widely used water disinfectant in Europe, has limited penetration within the biofilm due to its reaction with organic and inorganic compounds; these reactions also produces harmful and carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DPBs). The low efficiency of such disinfection treatments warrants the investigation into novel anti-biofilm agents, which can be more effective than and with less side effects. Research into the application of natural anti-biofilm agents is at the core of this project.
Research challenges - The formation and development of biofilms is a complicated procedure involving different stages, which can be the target of natural anti-biofilm agents for the prevention of their growth. Once established, biofilms are very difficult to eradicate because the EPS, made of proteins and polysaccharides, protect bacteria from disinfectants. Considering the applicability in drinking water environments, we focus on antimicrobial natural amino acid derivatives, because their utilization is compatible with human consumption (in water), and they can affect biofilms at different stages. An example is N-acetyl L-cysteine, an acetylated derivative of L-cysteine, which is able to inhibit cell adhesion on a surface and EPS excretion (initial phase), and can disrupt or degrade EPS, causing the dispersal of existing biofilms. The same anti-biofilm effects were observed for other molecules like D-tyrosine. A disinfection strategy applying these (tested) molecules is not expected to place any selective evolutionary pressure on microorganisms to develop antimicrobial resistance, and does not drive any DBPs production, reducing the long-term impact that is observed with the use of chlorine-based disinfectants.
Objectives and methodology - The aims of this project are to 1) identify natural, sustainable compounds applicable in drinking water environment (from pipe materials to filtration membranes), 2) understand their fundamental mechanism of action, and 3) produce a cost-effective protocol to be used as maintenance strategy or in contingency situations.
The disinfection approaches will be tested on:
- Mixed planktonic cells from drinking water sampled from both the production site and from the tap, to assess the effects on biostability.
- Biofilms developed in DWDS simulator (already present at Wetsus) to test the effectiveness on biofilms dispersal and EPS biopolymers in a drinking water asset.
- Biofilms grown on real pipes surfaces and developed on membranes materials, in order to assess the role of support material on the disinfection effectiveness.
- Pure cultures of known microbial strains, including Legionella and (bio)corrosive microorganisms.
In search of a cost-effective strategy, additional research will be dedicated to the ex-novo synthesis of a molecule which exert the same effects of the natural products. Novel anti-biofilm compounds may be produced using organic chemistry techniques. Several molecular biology and applied microscopy techniques will be applied to assess the effectiveness of the methods and understand the exact antibiofilm mechanisms of the natural molecules in drinking water environment.
Similar Positions
-
Ph D Position On Influence Of Colonizing Substrata On The Dynamics Of Antimicrobial Resistance And Pathogens In Fluvial Ecosystems , Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones científicas, CEAB-CSIC, Spain, about 1 month ago
18 Mar 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones científicas, CEAB-CSIC Research Field Environmental science Researcher Pro...
-
Ph D Position On Effect Directed Analysis On Microbial Communities As Indicators Of Chemical And Ecotoxicological Quality Status Of The Aquatic Environment, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research-National Spanish Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC), Spain, about 1 month ago
18 Mar 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research-National Spanish Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC) Research Field Environmental science Resear...
-
Ph D Position For Environmental Risk Sssessment Of Pharmaceuticals, IDAEA-CSIC, Spain, 23 days ago
26 Mar 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company IDAEA-CSIC Research Field Chemistry » Analytical chemistry Environmental science » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Spa...
-
Ph D Position In Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia, 6 days ago
11 Apr 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra Department The Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering Research Field Agricultural sciences Res...
-
Ph D Candidate In Analytical Chemistry/Biotechnology , Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway, about 3 hours ago
5th May 2024 Languages English English English PhD candidate in analytical chemistry/biotechnology Apply for this job See advertisement About the position A 100 % PhD position in biotechnology is ...
-
Ph D Candidate In Environmental Hydrogeology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, about 9 hours ago
17 Apr 2024 Job Information Organisation/Company Universitat de Barcelona Department Mineralogy, Petrology and Applied Geology Research Field Geosciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher ...