When paper is manufactured, deposits often form in the machines. These deposits are slimelike and can interfere with the papermaking process. The slimelike deposits are aggregates of micro-organisms, also known as biofilm. One single type of micro-organism can form a biofilm, but most biofilms consists of a mixture of several different kinds of micro-organisms and can form on about any conceivable surface. To control the aggregates of micro-organisms a slimecide is added, a so-called biocide. To examine what kind of bacteria that is included in the biofilm and also which bacteria that is killed or not killed by the biocide, Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis (T-RFLP) can be used.
In this report we examine biocides impact on biofilm produced in the laboratory.The biocides were first tested for possible interference with the PCR-step of the T-RFLP analysis. None of the tested ten biocides inhibited the PCR process the biofilm was formed on metal plates when these were lowered in a beaker with white water. Three different beakers were set up, one with addition of a biocide with active component 4,5-DICHLORO-1,2-DITHIOLONE from the start, one with the addition of the same biocide after three days and one with no addition at all of biocide. Samples were taken from the beakers and analyzed with T-RFLP.
In this report, we show that biocides affect planktonic and biofilm micro-organisms differently. There are however some micro-organisms in the biofilm that does not get affected by the biocide.
The experimental in this report is a good way of investigate the influence that biocides have on planktonic and biofilm micro-organisms, but to get even greater result the experiment should be done over a longer period of time and repeatedly.