Attachment of bacterial cells to carbon electrodes

Anodic stripping method was applied to analyze the process of bacterial att achment to the surface of carbon-paste electrodes (CPE). The electrode was immersed for various times in a bacterial cell suspension to allow the cell s to attach to its surface. The number of bacterial cells attached to the e lectrode surface increased along with time. On the other hand, the current derived from the oxidation of a dye, Hoechst, which was adsorbed to the sur face after attaching the bacterial cells, decreased along with time. It was considered that the current output, correlated with the amount of dye, ads orbed onto regions where no bacterial cell attached. These results indicate that the bacterial-attachment process can be analyzed by measuring the ele ctric current derived from the dye instead of counting the number of attach ed cells. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.