A novel technique to prevent bacterial fouling, using imposed surface potential

The affect of modest imposed surface potentials on the adhesion of marine b acteria to an electrically conducting layer deposited on silica glass is re corded. A positive shift increased bacterial settlement, However, a negativ e shift in potential was extremely beneficial in reducing numbers of adhere d bacteria. An applied surface potential of - 66 mV SCE resulted in the bac terial population decreasing to approximately 12% of that on the uncharged reference sample. There was no further significant decrease in the adhered bacterial population when the magnitude of the negative potential was incre ased. The potential was maintained with very little current flow (less than 0.25 nA mm(-2)). The results were not due to any effect of the material us ed acid therefore the technique could be useful for reducing bacterial foul ing in man! situations, including medical applications.