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View/Open - ARAN - National University of Ireland, Galway

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Chapter 2<br />

effective method for removal <strong>of</strong> bi<strong>of</strong>ilm cells from surfaces [72, 114, 118,<br />

120, 122, 180-182]. The surfaces under examination are placed in sealed<br />

containers <strong>of</strong> sterile liquid. During the procedure the ultrasonic vibration<br />

leads to the formation <strong>of</strong> small bubbles in the liquid containing the surfaces.<br />

As a result the bubbles interact and hit <strong>of</strong>f the surface resulting in the<br />

bi<strong>of</strong>ilm becoming dislodged from the surface without disrupting the<br />

integrity <strong>of</strong> the bi<strong>of</strong>ilm cells. The placement <strong>of</strong> the water-bath within the<br />

sonication unit allows the frequency <strong>of</strong> the sound to travel at a faster pace.<br />

However the challenge <strong>of</strong> sonication is to optimize removal <strong>of</strong> the bi<strong>of</strong>ilm<br />

matrix while simultaneously preventing cell damage [105]. The sonication<br />

water-bath controls the intensity <strong>of</strong> ultrasonic waves emitted per second<br />

(kiloHetz - kHz) by increasing the pitch and the frequency <strong>of</strong> the resonance<br />

sound. The degas function on the water-bath reduces the volume <strong>of</strong> gas<br />

naturally contained in the liquid solution before the process begins. The<br />

temperature <strong>of</strong> the water-bath can also be optimized by use <strong>of</strong> the heating<br />

block built into the bath. Room temperature can be maintained using a<br />

thermometer positioned in the bath with the addition <strong>of</strong> warm water or ice<br />

to alter the temperature.<br />

Monson and colleagues highlighted that that in order to sufficiently<br />

remove bi<strong>of</strong>ilm cells from a surface whilst detecting and preventing cell<br />

damage quality checks must be performed to optimize conditions for the<br />

organism and surfaces tested [181]. Quality checks can be verified<br />

quantitatively by performing viable plate counts on the organism when in<br />

planktonic form (normal bacterial suspension) and also by comparing the<br />

sonication method for removal <strong>of</strong> bacteria to other methods. Other<br />

methods used for bi<strong>of</strong>ilm removal for cell enumeration include scraping<br />

the surface to dislodge the bi<strong>of</strong>ilm matrix [98] or swabbing [71]. However<br />

all removal methods should also be verified preferable through microscopy<br />

to confirm level <strong>of</strong> removal from the surface [183].<br />

Page<br />

52

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