Poly(ethylene glycol)-based thiol-ene hydrogel coatings-curing chemistry, aqueous stability, and potential marine antifouling applications.

Photocured thiol-ene hydrogel coatings based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were investigated for marine antifouling purposes. By varying the PEG length, vinylic end-group, and thiol cross-linker, a library of hydrogel coatings with different structural composition was efficiently accomplished, with or without ester linkages. The thiol-methacrylate and thiol-allyl systems were evaluated with respect to curing, degradation, as well as antifouling properties.

Bacterial assay for the rapid assessment of antifouling and fouling release properties of coatings and materials.

An assay has been developed to accurately quantify the growth and release behaviour of bacterial biofilms on several test reference materials and coatings, using the marine bacterium Cobetia marina as a model organism. The assay can be used to investigate the inhibition of bacterial growth and release properties of many surfaces when compared to a reference. The method is based upon the staining of attached bacterial cells with the nucleic acid-binding, green fluorescent SYTO 13 stain.

Chemical defence in mussels: antifouling effect of crude extracts of the periostracum of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis.

Shells of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis remain free of fouling organisms as long as they possess an intact periostracum, and a multiple antifouling defence that comprises a ripple-like microtopography and the production of chemical antifouling compounds has been suggested previously. This study investigates the chemical defence strategy of blue mussels for the first time. Six crude extracts of the periostracum of intact shells were made using solvents of increasing polarity.

Multiple linear regression analysis of bacterial deposition to polyurethane coatings after conditioning film formation in the marine environment.

Many studies have shown relationships of substratum hydrophobicity, charge or roughness with bacterial adhesion, although bacterial adhesion is governed by interplay of different physico-chemical properties and multiple regression analysis would be more suitable to reveal mechanisms of bacterial adhesion. The formation of a conditioning film of organic compounds adsorbed from seawater affects the properties of substratum surfaces prior to bacterial adhesion, which is a complicating factor in studying the mechanism of bacterial adhesion. In this paper, the impact of conditioning films adsorbed from natural seawater to four polyurethane coatings with different hydrophobicity, elasticity and roughness was studied for three different marine bacterial strains in a multiple linear regression analysis.

The effect of dissolved organic carbon on bacterial adhesion to conditioning films adsorbed on glass from natural seawater collected during different seasons.

Adhesion of three marine bacterial strains, i.e. Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, Psychrobacter sp.

The effect of gregariousness in cyprid settlement assays.

The in vitro settlement assay using cyprids of Balanus. amphitrite is an important tool in basic and applied research. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of gregariousness within these assays, and to determine the interaction between gregariousness and container size, and settlement promoters and inhibitors.