Title:
QCM viscometer for bioremediation and microbial activity monitoring
QCM viscometer for bioremediation and microbial activity monitoring
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Author(s)
Gee, Wesley A.
Ritalahti, Kirsti M.
Hunt, William D.
Löffler, Frank E.
Ritalahti, Kirsti M.
Hunt, William D.
Löffler, Frank E.
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Abstract
A quartz crystal microbalance has been used to
monitor the polymer production of a bacterial population in
liquid medium. The increasing amount of produced polymer
corresponds to an increase in the viscosity of the liquid, which is
directly measurable as the fluid contacts the surface of the quartz
crystal in the sensor system. This procedure is being developed as
a novel method for measuring microbial polymer production and
growth of an environmental isolate obtained from river sediment
contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This measurement
technique may be used to monitor growth characteristics of
unknown anaerobic bacteria when used in conjunction with
other currently employed microbiological test methods, such as
spectrophotometry, to measure turbidity. In the presence of glucose, a novel, strictly anaerobic bacterial
isolate, designated strain JEL-1, produces a viscous, as yet unidentified,
polymer. In defined minimal media containing amino acids
and glucose under a nitrogen gas atmosphere, copious quantities
of this polymer are produced. This research investigates the corresponding
increase in quantity of the polymer produced by JEL-1 as
well as the polymer production rate in a controlled liquid medium.
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Date Issued
2003-06
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Article