Bernd Wilke

Monitoring of Biofilm Development on Surfaces Using an Electrochemical Method

Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from ore by microorganisms. Initial attachment and formation of biofilm by microorganisms are very important for the bioleaching due to the mineral oxidation processes. However, very few techniques were proposed to monitor initial stage of biofilms in real time. Therefore, the aim of this work was to probe an electrochemical method on the bacterial biofilm model under the laboratory conditions. It was found that electrochemical method can be suggested for the real time detection of initial phase of P. polymyxa biofilm formation by observation of the potential increase. However, detection of biofilm development at late stages was not successful due to the decrease of the electrochemical potential by full coverage of the test surface. Nevertheless, this technique is supposed as a promising method for early stage detection of desirable biofilms of acidophilic iron oxidizing microorganisms in bioleaching.