Real-time Raman based approach for identification of biofouling

Abstract This study describes a proof-of-concept for a compact real-time surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-online sensing approach for detection of biofouling in drinking water membrane filtration. In this study we created a custom-designed flow-cell that mimics a cross-flow membrane filtration system. This enables one to measure changes in surface-foulants, such as Brevundimonas dimiuta (BD) bacteria and adenine, under conditions that are similar to conventional membrane filtration systems. For measurements we used a common portable Raman-spectrometer with a laboratory Raman-probe in combination with a specially developed gold nanoparticle (Au NP) SERS-sensing area on filter-membranes. This allowed real-time detection of low concentrations of surface-foulants immediately after inoculation into an ultra-pure water reservoir under pressure-driven filtration conditions. We compared these online results with static measurements from an offline, sample-taking approach, using a confocal Raman-laboratory-microscope. The developed Au NP SERS-sensing-area on the membranes proved to be stable over a long period of surface fouling investigations and to suppress the strong interfering Raman-signal originating from the composition layer of most filtration membranes.

[1]  Michael Wagner,et al.  Label-free in situ SERS imaging of biofilms. , 2010, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[2]  G. Frens.  Controlled Nucleation for the Regulation of the Particle Size in Monodisperse Gold Suspensions , 1973 .

[3]  G. Frens.  Controlled nucleation for the regulation of the particle size in monodisperse gold solutions , 1973 .

[4]  Hans G.L. Coster,et al.  Observation of deposition and removal behaviour of submicron bacteria on the membrane surface during crossflow microfiltration , 2003 .

[5]  Pengyu Chen,et al.  Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy monitoring the development of dual-species biofouling on membrane surfaces , 2015 .

[6]  Jürgen Popp,et al.  Localizing and identifying living bacteria in an abiotic environment by a combination of Raman and fluorescence microscopy. , 2008, Analytical chemistry.

[7]  A. Bottino,et al.  Characterization of PVDF membranes by vibrational spectroscopy , 2002 .

[8]  Seongmin Hong,et al.  Optimal size of gold nanoparticles for surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy under different conditions , 2013 .

[9]  M. Çulha,et al.  In Situ-Monitoring of Biofilm Formation by Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering , 2013, Applied spectroscopy.

[10]  B. Ren,et al.  In situ study of the antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of silver nanoparticles by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. , 2013, Analytical chemistry.

[11]  Hans-Curt Flemming,et al.  The EPS Matrix: The “House of Biofilm Cells” , 2007, Journal of bacteriology.

[12]  Li Cui,et al.  Sensitive and versatile detection of the fouling process and fouling propensity of proteins on polyvinylidene fluoride membranes via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. , 2011, Analytical chemistry.

[13]  G. Schatz,et al.  An accurate electromagnetic theory study of surface enhancement factors for silver, gold, copper, lithium, sodium, aluminum, gallium, indium, zinc, and cadmium , 1987 .

[14]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Effect of membrane chemistry and coating layer on physiochemical properties of thin film composite polyamide RO and NF membranes: II. Membrane physiochemical properties and their dependence on polyamide and coating layers , 2009 .

[15]  Nicholas R. Abu-Absi,et al.  Real time monitoring of multiple parameters in mammalian cell culture bioreactors using an in-line Raman spectroscopy probe. , 2011, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[16]  Linhua Fan,et al.  Biofouling of Water Treatment Membranes: A Review of the Underlying Causes, Monitoring Techniques and Control Measures , 2012, Membranes.

[17]  Hans-Curt Flemming,et al.  Biofouling—the Achilles heel of membrane processes☆ , 1997 .

[18]  Juha Kostamovaara,et al.  Fluorescence-suppressed time-resolved Raman spectroscopy of pharmaceuticals using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector , 2015, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

[19]  Zhijun Zhou,et al.  Improving the antifouling property of polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane by incorporation of isocyanate-treated graphene oxide. , 2013, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[20]  Yong-qing Li,et al.  Real-time Raman spectroscopy of optically trapped living cells and organelles. , 2004, Optics express.

[21]  Marco Zanella,et al.  Biological applications of gold nanoparticles. , 2008, Chemical Society reviews.

[22]  Mika Mänttäri,et al.  Critical flux in NF of high molar mass polysaccharides and effluents from the paper industry , 2000 .

[23]  T. Matsuura,et al.  Characterization of synthetic membranes by Raman spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, and atomic force microscopy; a review , 2000 .

[24]  Mati Horprathum,et al.  Shelf time effect on SERS effectiveness of silver nanorod prepared by OAD technique , 2013 .

[25]  S. Bell,et al.  Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for sub-micromolar detection of DNA/RNA mononucleotides. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[26]  G. Dent,et al.  Modern Raman Spectroscopy: A Practical Approach , 2005 .

[27]  Ting Yu,et al.  Gold on graphene as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering study , 2010 .

[28]  Luís F. Melo,et al.  Online Biofilm Monitoring , 2003 .

[29]  Jie Li,et al.  An investigation of the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from a new substrate of silver-modified silver electrode by magnetron sputtering. , 2007, Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy.

[30]  Muhammad Safdar,et al.  A Microfluidic Bioreactor with in Situ SERS Imaging for the Study of Controlled Flow Patterns of Biofilm Precursor Materials , 2013, Sensors.

[31]  F. Martin,et al.  Interrogating chemical variation via layer-by-layer SERS during biofouling and cleaning of nanofiltration membranes with further investigations into cleaning efficiency. , 2015, Water research.

[32]  S. Reinikainen,et al.  Examination of membrane performance with multivariate methods: A case study within a pulp and paper mill filtration application , 2006 .

[33]  Anthony G. Fane,et al.  A review of fouling and fouling control in ultrafiltration , 1987 .

[34]  Jens Petter Wold,et al.  Raman Spectra of Biological Samples: A Study of Preprocessing Methods , 2006, Applied spectroscopy.

[35]  Anthony D. Greiner,et al.  Diagnosis of membrane fouling using a rotating annular filter. 1. Cell culture media , 1993 .

[36]  K. Tung,et al.  Online monitoring of particle fouling in a submerged membrane filtration system using a photointerrupt sensor array , 2012 .

[37]  F. Theil,et al.  Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): progress and trends , 2012, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

[38]  R. Schneider,et al.  Dynamics of organic carbon and of bacterial populations in a conventional pretreatment train of a reverse osmosis unit experiencing severe biofouling , 2005 .

[39]  Meikun Fan,et al.  A review on the fabrication of substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and their applications in analytical chemistry. , 2011, Analytica chimica acta.

[40]  Jian-Feng Li,et al.  Expanding generality of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with borrowing SERS activity strategy. , 2007, Chemical communications.

[41]  S.T.V. Sim,et al.  Monitoring membrane biofouling via ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry enhanced by silica dosing , 2013 .

[42]  T. Klar,et al.  Gold nanoparticles quench fluorescence by phase induced radiative rate suppression. , 2005, Nano letters.

[43]  H. Flemming,et al.  The biofilm matrix , 2010, Nature Reviews Microbiology.

[44]  H. Ngo,et al.  A mini-review on membrane fouling. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[45]  Keith T. Carron,et al.  Determination of the Distance Dependence and Experimental Effects for Modified SERS Substrates Based on Self-Assembled Monolayers Formed Using Alkanethiols , 1999 .

[46]  Martin Kuentz,et al.  Insights into Drug Precipitation Kinetics during In Vitro Digestion of a Lipid-Based Drug Delivery System Using In-Line Raman Spectroscopy and Mathematical Modeling , 2013, Pharmaceutical Research.

[47]  Juha Kostamovaara,et al.  Fluorescence suppression in Raman spectroscopy using a time-gated CMOS SPAD. , 2013, Optics express.

[48]  Gerwin J. Puppels,et al.  Optical Fingerprinting in Bacterial Epidemiology: Raman Spectroscopy as a Real-Time Typing Method , 2009, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[49]  Shiva Kumar,et al.  Raman Spectroscopy for In-Line Water Quality Monitoring — Instrumentation and Potential , 2014, Sensors.

[50]  Jung‐Kun Lee,et al.  Thermoelectric properties of Al-doped mesoporous ZnO thin films , 2013 .

[51]  S. G. Harroun,et al.  Use of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy for studying fouling on nanofiltration membrane , 2012 .