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Research title Quantifying mass transport dynamics in biofilms with Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Summary of research Biofilms form when bacteria adhere to surfaces in moist environments by excreting a slimy, glue-like substance. They cost the U.K. billions of pounds every year in energy losses, equipment damage, product contamination and medical infections. But biofilms also offer huge potential for bioremediating hazardous waste sites, cleansing municipal and industrial water and wastewater, forming bio barriers to protect groundwater from contamination and generating electricity in microbial fuel cells.
Understanding, at a fundamental level, the structure and function of biofilms will allow us to harness the full power of these complex biological communities and contribute to engineering a more sustainable future. For a biofilm to function, nutrients and other essential components must be efficiently transported through the biofilm where they are processed by the bacteria.
Quantifying these essential transport processes is critical to verify the mathematical models used by engineers. To quantify mass transport I will utilize novel 1H based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to reveal transport rates and pathways within a range of important biofilm systems, namely wastewater treatment biofilms, fuel cell biofilms and natural photosynthetic biofilms.
Moreover, MRI also reveals the structure of the biofilm, allowing me to determine the impact of biofilm architecture on mass transport. The data collected will then be input into mass transport and reaction path models to determine how the rate and pathways of molecular migration impacts biofilm function and performance. Supervisors Dr Vernon Phoenix
Professor William.T Sloan (University of Glasgow)
Dr William.M Holmes (University of Glasgow) |
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