Anti-biofouling functional surfaces for marine aquaculture

Cox, Harrison J.; Cooper, Isaac; Kaspar, Heinrich F.; Packer, Michael A.; Badyal, Jas Pal S.

Abstract

Aquaculture is a global-scale industry providing sustainable production of protein-rich foods required to feed the growing world population. Microalgae cultivation in aquaculture bioreactors can exude extracellular polymeric substances leading to biofouling of culture infrastructure and increased algal disease risk. A structure–behaviour relationship was developed by examining how the surface wettability of a range of functional nanocoatings impacts the extent of biofouling during exposure to continuous microalgae culture under normal hydrodynamic conditions. High-wetting (hydrophilic) surfaces were found to reduce biofouling better than water-repelling (hydrophobic) surfaces. Low toxicity in conjunction with antifouling behaviour was found for pulsed plasma poly(4-vinylpyridine) coated bioreactor surfaces (water contact angle = 38 ± 5°) towards the marine microalgal species Chaetoceros calcitrans, Chaetoceros mulleri, and Tisochrysis lutea (T-Iso), which are commonly grown as aquaculture food.

Citation

Cox, H. J., Cooper, I., Kaspar, H. F., Packer, M. A., & Badyal, J. P. S. (2022). Anti-biofouling functional surfaces for marine aquaculture. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 639, Article 128313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2022.128313

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 12, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jan 24, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 20, 2022
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 17, 2022
• Journal: Colloids and surfaces A: physicochemical and engineering aspects.
• Print ISSN: 0927-7757
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-4359
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 639
• Article Number: 128313
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2022.128313
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1214929