@article{f4e520ac989542f2b1f5d855764bf25f,
title = "Nanogel-based coating as an alternative strategy for biofilm control in drinking water distribution systems",
abstract = "Biofilm formation and detachment in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can lead to several operational issues. Here, an alternative biofilm control strategy of limiting bacterial adhesion by application of a poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide)-based nanogel coating on DWDS pipe walls was investigated. The nanogel coatings were successfully deposited on surfaces of four polymeric pipe materials commonly applied in DWDS construction. Nanogel-coated and non-coated pipe materials were characterized in terms of their surface hydrophilicity and roughness. Four DWDS relevant bacterial strains, representing Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas, were used to evaluate the anti-adhesive performance of the coating in 4 h adhesion and 24 h biofilm assays. The presence of the nanogel coating resulted in adhesion reduction up to 97%, and biofilm reduction up to 98%, compared to non-coated surfaces. These promising results motivate further investigation of nanogel coatings as a strategy for biofilm prevention in DWDS.",
keywords = "anti-adhesive coating, bacterial adhesion, biofilm, drinking water distribution, nanogels",
author = "Olga S{\'o}jka and Damla Keskin and {van der Mei}, {Henny C.} and {van Rijn}, Patrick and Gagliano, {Maria Cristina}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was performed in the cooperation framework of Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology (www.wetsus.nl). Wetsus is co-funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the European Union Regional Development Fund, the Province of Frysl{\^a}n and the Northern Netherlands Provinces. This research received funding from Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in the framework of the collaboration programme of NWO with Wetsus on Sustainable Water Technology under grant No. ALWET.2017.003. The authors acknowledge the financial support of the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713482 (ALERT Cofund program). The authors thank the participants of the research theme {\textquoteleft}Biofilms{\textquoteright} for the help, fruitful discussions and financial support. The authors want to thank Clio Siebenmorgen for TEM imaging of nanogel particles. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1080/08927014.2023.2190023",
language = "English",
volume = "39",
pages = "121--134",
journal = "Biofouling",
issn = "0892-7014",
publisher = "Taylor & Francis Group",
number = "2",
}