Center for Biofilm Engineering News Update:  October, 2001 Volume 4, Issue 10 __________________________________________   Research Highlights   Paper Spotlight   Pilot studies are often used to assess the feasibility of certain designs for water treatment to meet desired criteria for finished water quality. Typical chemical criteria include disinfection by-product formation potential, disinfectant demand, and the corrosivity of the water. Another need is to be able to determine if the water is biologically stable, that is, if the water can support the growth of biofilms in the distribution system. A logical choice for evaluating biological stability would be biofilm based. To determine if the annular reactor was appropriate for this task, the reactors were used to measure biofilm formation potential of effluent water from five treatment processes (varied filter media type, direct filtration, preozonation, and primary chlorination) and the raw water at the New York City Croton Lake Pilot Plant. The research took place over a one-year period. Data collected from the reactors included bacterial growth and organic carbon biodegradation. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations were made using reactor data to determine the relative biostability of the produced waters compared to that of the original source water and water currently being distributed to consumers. These results were compared to traditional assimilable organic carbon and biodegradable organic carbon assays. Quantitative biostability factors were developed that accounted for both biological growth potential and biodegradability of the tested waters. Results from these studies were used to compare various piloted treatment processes and to assess pilot plant operation, design parameters, and seasonal source water quality. Sharp, R.R., A.K. Camper, J.J. Crippen, O.D. Schneider, and S. Leggiero, "Evaluation of Drinking Water Biostability Using Biofilm Methods," J. Environ. Eng., 403(5):403-410 (2001).   _______   Grants Awarded   Two NSF Partnerships in Education and Research (PER) Program grants have been awarded to the Center. In partnership with the University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB), a grant of $300,000 for three years was awarded for the "Examination of UWEB Biomaterials for Antibacterial Properties." Dr. Buddy Ratner (UWEB) and Dr. Bill Costerton (CBE) will serve as Principal Investigators (PI). A second grant, "International Research and Education Program in Biofilm Control using Furanones and Acyl Donors," was awarded $100,000 for one year. Dr. Bill Costerton is the PI of this grant. Partnering institutions in this grant are the Biosignal Group, University of New South Wales and the Biofilm Group, Technical University of Denmark. Both of the grants will begin in 2001. Other grants that have recently been awarded are listed below. "Control of Biofilms by Natural Products," sponsored by Sequoia Science/NIH for $59,000/1 year (with potential for subsequent additional funding), Principal Investigators are Drs. Bill Costerton and Mark Pasmore. "Biofilm Removal-Sonicare Toothbrush," sponsored by Philips Oral Healthcare for $45,000/1 year (with potential for subsequent additional funding), Principal Investigator is Dr. Paul Stoodley and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Bill Costerton. "Suspended Coupon Reactor," sponsored by the Montana Board of Research for $71,000/1 year (with potential for subsequent additional funding), Principal Investigator is Dr. Marty Hamilton and Co- Principal Investigator is Darla Goeres. "Subsurface Barrier Technologies," sponsored by the Montana Board of Research for $66,000/1 year (with potential for subsequent additional funding), Principal Investigator is Dr. Al Cunningham. _______   Microsensors: Manufacture & Application Workshop   The Biofilm Structure and Function Research group at the Center for Biofilm Engineering sponsored a Microsensor Workshop August 20-24, 2001 at Montana State University-Bozeman. Microsensors (pH, dissolved oxygen, ion selective) are becoming indispensable tools for studying biofilms or microscale biological samples. The goal of this workshop was to provide the participants with the knowledge necessary to design, manufacture, and apply such microsensors. Lectures and hands-on laboratories illustrated the electrochemical principles of the measurements, explained how microsensors are manufactured, and demonstrated how they are applied to biofilms.  Participants traveled from Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. to learn about microsensors. The success of the workshop is shown in the comments below, excerpted from the workshop feedback forms. Another workshop is planned for 2002. "The free exchange of knowledge was the highlight of the workshop." "The lab sessions were immensely helpful. Greatly appreciated the friendly and enthusiastic nature of all involved." "An excellent workshop. Appreciated the guidance, encouragement and willingness to openly discuss all issues." "The information presented would have been difficult to obtain out of readings. There were a number of things presented about possible pitfalls that will help me to avoid certain mistakes." "I initially thought it was too expensive, but balancing the cost with cost-savings by building sensors rather than buying them is well worth the registration cost." "The trip to Yellowstone Park was not just a great thing to experience but it demonstrated the difficulties in microsensor application."   _______   Biofilm Methods Workshop   On October 15-16, the CBE hosted a Biofilm Methods Workshop for non-Industrial Associate biofilm researchers. These workshops are held twice annually (spring and fall), are of two-day duration, and focus on the fundamentals of biofilm experimentation and theory. Attendees at these workshops come away with an understanding of how to conduct biofilm experiments in their own labs, measurement techniques and methods for biofilms, and the value of the CBE as a resource for Industrial Associate members.   _______   Geesey Assigned to Subsurface Science Initiative Dr. Gill Geesey is serving as the Microbiology Discipline Leader of the Subsurface Science Initiative at INEEL. This is the largest initiative currently supported at INEEL and was developed to secure INEEL's position as lead laboratory in subsurface science for the U.S. DOE Complex. The initiative's current focus is interdisciplinary, mesoscale research on vadose zone processes that control contaminant transport to aquifers.    _______   Olympic Torchbearer Dr. Gordon McFeters, Professor Emeritus, has been selected by the Southwestern Montana Judging Board to represent Bozeman, as he carries the Olympic Flame in the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. Community judging panels across America have been reading tens of thousands of stories, submitted by people from all walks of life who want to honor someone who has been a source of personal inspiration in their lives. The panels' task has been to choose a few special people who are the light of inspiration in our nation to serve as torchbearers for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. Congratulations, Gordon!   __________________________________________   Upcoming CBE Workshops and Meetings   See the Events Calendar at http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/index.htm     _________________________________________   CBE People in Action   Dr. Elinor Pulcini presented "Biofilms and Persistant Infections at the 12th Congress of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association Meeting, Seattle, WA, September 5, 2001. Dr. Robin Gerlach presented "Iron-reducing Bacteria and Permeable Reactive Subsurface Barriers" at EAWAG, Zurich, Switzerland, September 11, 2001.  Dr. Robin Gerlach presented "Biobarriers - A Novel Technology for the Containment and Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater" at Institute for Hydraulic Engineering Hydromechanics and Modelling of Hydrosystems, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, September 12, 2001. Dr. Elinor Pulcini presented "An Introduction to Biofilms," at the Intermountain States Seminar for lab technicians, Jackson Hole, WY, September 14, 2001. Dr. Paul Stoodley presented "Detachment and Dynamic Behavior in Bacterial Biofilms" to Ondeo Nalco, Naperville, Illinois, September 17, 2001. Dr. Bill Costerton was invited to present "Role of Biofilms in Chronic Bacterial Infections," at the Meeting on Advances in Understanding Causes and Management of Upper and Lower Airway Inflammation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in Pittsburgh, PA, October 12-14, 2001. Dr. Bill Costerton was invited to present "Biofilms: The Bacterial Phenotypes that Cause Chronic Infections," at The Molecular Pathogenesis of Infectious and Inflammatory Eye Research Conference (MPIIER), Oklahoma City, OK, October 14-16, 2001.  Dr. Zbigniew Lewandowski, presented a paper "Biofouling and Corrosion of Stainless Steels in Natural Waters," at the International Water Association Congress, Berlin, Germany, October 14-20, 2001. Dr. Bill Costerton was invited to present "Biofilm-Based Strategies for the Treatment of Device-Related and Other Chronic Bacterial Infections," 4th Bernese Infectious Diseases Symposium at the University of Bern in Bren, Switzerland, October 18, 2001.  Dr. Bill Costerton was invited to present "Why Kill Bacteria When We Can Now Persuade Them to Behave?" at the Workshop on Environmentally Friendly Marine Coatings held at the Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden, October 19, 2001. Dr. Richard H. Veeh will present "Aerobic MTBE Biodegradation Potential in Gasoline-Impacted Groundwater near Ronan, MT" at The 17th Annual Conference on Contaminated Soils, Sediments, and Water, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, October 22-25, 2001. Dr. Bill Costerton was invited to present "New Therapeutic Approaches to Treat Pseudomonas Infection," at the 15th Annual North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference to be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, FL, October 25-26, 2001.  Dr. Bill Costerton as a special guest lecturer will present "Biofilms in Chronic Bacterial Infections," at the Second Annual Musculoskeletal Infection Symposium to be held at the West Wing Conference Center, Pittsburgh, PA, October 27, 2001.  __________________________________________   Theses   See theses abstracts at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Theses/default.htm     __________________________________________   Web Watch   See the BiofilmsOnline.com October issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com   Check our Recent Web Updates page created to make it easy for you to locate new information on the CBE web. See http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm     __________________________________________   Newsletter Listserve   The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you need to subscribe or unsubscribe from the listserve, follow the directions at the following CBE website.   http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/subscribe.htm   An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm.   __________________________________________   Diane Williams  editor of the CBE News Update