Biofouling detection methods that are widely applicable and useful across disciplines: a mini-review.

Biofouling, or the build-up of microorganisms in a biofilm at the solid-water or water-air interface, is an interdisciplinary problem. Biofouling causes various issues including clogging systems, contaminating devices, and creating infections that are extremely difficult to treat, to name but a few. Therefore, engineers, pharmacologists, microbiologists, wastewater treatment operators, chemists, food preservative formulators, home and personal care product formulators, and toxicologists all play a role in studying and have an interest in solving biofouling.

The Best-Practice Organism for Single-Species Studies of Antimicrobial Efficacy against Biofilms Is .

As potable water scarcity increases across the globe; it is imperative to identify energy and cost-effective processes for producing drinking-water from non-traditional sources. One established method is desalination of brackish and seawater via reverse osmosis (RO). However, the buildup of microorganisms at the water-membrane interface, known as biofouling, clogs RO membranes over time, increasing energy requirements and cost.