Estimation of the biofilm formation ability of Pseudomonas putida in discrete samples from continuous culture

Abstract

Test systems were set up in order to evaluate the ability of biomass from a continuous culture to form biofilms. A film-forming strain of Pseudomonas putida was used as the test organism. The adsorption of resting cells onto glass surfaces was measured in specially designed chambers containing 1 ml of cell suspension. Both the quantity and the physiological activity of the adsorbed cells, in terms of optical density after detachment and pH change of a substrate exposed to the adsorbed cells, were measured. The analysis of biomass from continuous cultures of Pseudomonas putida verified the suitability of the methods. Furthermore, other properties of importance to biofilm formation such as hydrophobicity and flocculation capacity of the cells were investigated.