TY - DATA T1 - Use of rhamnolipid biosurfactant for membrane biofouling prevention and cleaning PY - 2015/04/15 AU - Lan Hee Kim AU - Yongmoon Jung AU - Sung-Jo Kim AU - Chang-Min Kim AU - Hye-Weon Yu AU - Hee-Deung Park AU - In S. Kim UR - https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Use_of_rhamnolipid_biosurfactant_for_membrane_biofouling_prevention_and_cleaning/1342597 DO - 10.6084/m9.figshare.1342597.v2 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/1960096 KW - seawater samples KW - water flux KW - membrane biofouling KW - cleaning Rhamnolipids KW - biofilm reduction KW - membrane biofouling prevention KW - biofilm detachment KW - surface hydrophobicity KW - growth rate KW - rhamnolipid biosurfactant KW - cell membrane KW - filtration system KW - Pseudomonas aeruginosa KW - cleaning agent N2 - Rhamnolipids were evaluated as biofouling reducing agents in this study. The permeability of the bacterial outer membrane was increased by rhamnolipids while the growth rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was not affected. The surface hydrophobicity was increased through the release of lipopolysaccharides and extracellular polymeric substances from the outer cell membrane. Rhamnolipids were evaluated as agents for the prevention and cleaning of biofilms. A high degree of biofilm detachment was observed when the rhamnolipids were used as a cleaning agent. In addition, effective biofilm reduction occurred when rhamnolipids were applied to various species of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from seawater samples. Biofilm reduction using rhamnolipids was comparable to commercially available surfactants. In addition, 20% of the water flux was increased after rhamnolipid treatment (300 μg ml−1, 6 h exposure time) in a dead-end filtration system. Rhamnolipids appear to have promise as biological agents for reducing membrane biofouling. ER -