4 - Influence of surface materials on biofilm formation

Abstract

The presence of biofilms in plumbing systems is often related to organoleptic alterations in drinking water, the acceleration of pipe corrosion, and the proliferation of opportunistic pathogens. As a result of these adverse effects, there is not completely effective strategy to control biofilms and a biofilm-free plumbing system is utopic. It is known that the materials used in plumbing construction play a key role in biofilm formation, microbial diversity, structure, and pathogen proliferation. However, there is no consensus on which type of material has the major impact on biofilm prevention. The discrepancies between different published reports may be due to the high complexity of plumbing systems and the multitude of variables that change among studies. In this chapter, the influence of different metallic and polymeric materials on biofilm formation in plumbing systems is reviewed. Metallic materials are highly associated with biofilm development, corrosion susceptibility, and disinfectant decay. However, polymeric materials are prone to biofilm development, mainly due to the leaching of organic compounds into drinking water. Moreover, the use of different materials simultaneously in the same plumbing system may also favor material corrosion and biofilm development. Finally, this chapter presents a summary on the most commonly used techniques to assess and evaluate biofilm formation on different surface materials.