BRIC members are committed to support students who are interested in our research activities and collaborations with industry. Please contact biofilm@flinders.edu.au if you are interested in doing a project with us.
Currently available projects are listed below, please contact the supervisors directly.
New marine anti-biofouling surfaces.
Fouling (the growth of marine organisms) onto ships or other surfaces is a serious problem that dramatically increases fuel consumption and spreading of invasive species. To overcome the fouling problem current methods mainly use antifouling paint containing harmful biocides. The focus of this project is to develop new conducting coatings and to study the prevention of biofilm growth on surfaces under electrochemical stress. Different types of conducting paints will be developed by adding conducting carbon compounds such as graphite powder, carbon nanotubes and graphene into commercial paints.
Supervisors: Andersson, M. & Leterme, S.C.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Prevent marine growth inside ships
Fouling inside ship engines and cooling systems is a significant problem for the maritime industry. The biofilm growth inside pipes limits the flow of water and can in severe cases even block the flow completely. In this project materials able to take up the copper naturally present in the sea water will be studied. By releasing the copper back into the water inside the pipes at short time intervals higher copper concentration can be temporarily generated and their antibiofouling efficiency will be studied in model systems. The applicant should have foreknowledge in microbiology & molecular biology.
Supervisors: Andersson, M. & Leterme, S.C.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Inhibition of biofilm formation by hospital-acquired pathogens
Bacteria can exist in a phase called a biofilm where they live enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix. When in this form they have an enhanced chance of survival as the can protect the bacteria from attack by the immune system, confer resistance to antibiotics by decreasing uptake and increasing efflux, and contribute to bacterial survival and overall pathogenicity. This project will screen a chemical library looking for molecules that simultaneously inhibit efflux and biofilm formation.
Supervisors: Brown, M.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
A bugs life: eating steel and making rotten egg gas.
Bio-corrosion or microbiologically induced corrosion is a common problem in water pipes as well as oil and gas production. Specific bacterial strains found in these environments can produce highly corrosive chemicals, including H2S (rotten egg gas), accelerating the corrosion of pipelines. This project will focus on the detection and characterisation of corrosion in water pipes accelerated by the presence of bacteria. We will look at how bacteria attach to the metal, how we can detect this and finally how we might prevent bio-corrosion.
Supervisors: Harmer, S. & Köper, I.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Spatial arrangement of nitrifiers in biofilm using FISH and annular reactors
Drinking water disinfection using chloramination has numerous benefits including, but not limited to, better customer aesthetics and improvements on exceedances of regulated Disinfection-By-Products. However, chloraminated distribution systems are susceptible to biological nitrification—problematic for maintaining adequate disinfection. Understanding the spatial arrangement of nitrifying bacteria within biofilms will assist in the management of these systems. An opportunity exists for a student to employ molecular methods that will further our knowledge in this area.
Supervisors: Harmer, S., Fallowfield, H. & Thurgood, L.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Surface characterisation of X-ray emitters
In collaboration with Micro-X (company located at Tonsley), we will investigate some surface characteristic and physical-chemistry properties of their X-Ray emitters.
We will also look at ways to improve the formulation of their surface architecture, which is composed of a layer of carbon nanotubes attached to a surface.
The applicant should have foreknowledge chemistry and nanotechnology.
Supervisors: Köper, I.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Surface Specific Biofilm Growth
The hypothesis is that “different” biofilms will grow on a surface from a mixed bacteria population in sea water. This project will create a range of different surface chemistries and structures to systematically explore the rate and type of biofilm growth from a mixed population. The surfaces will encompass producing a range of polymeric systems from hydrophillic to hydrophobic properties on substrates with a focus on the characterisaton of the biofilms that form.
The applicant should have foreknowledge in biological processes.
Supervisors: Lewis, D.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Effect of natural extracts in the destabilisation of biofilms
Biofouling, the unwanted attachment and growth of organisms on a surface, increases the cost and decreases the productivity of reverse osmosis desalination plants. At present there is limited success in removing biofilms from RO membranes using chemical treatments. This project will focus on natural extracts to destabilise biofilms. Single organism to multi organism biofilms will be produced under static and flow cell conditions with a focus on a reduction or increased porosity of biofilm formation.
The applicant should have foreknowledge in microbiology.
Supervisors: Leterme, S.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Biofilms on seagrasses
Ruppia tuberosa is a keystone species for the southern Coorong – contributing to maintaining water quality and trapping sediment while providing habitat for invertebrates and fish, and food for waterbirds. Excessive filamentous algal growth in the Coorong negatively impacts on Ruppia growth and seed production and dampens the long-term recovery of the Coorong ecosystem despite successful translocation efforts. There is no knowledge on the microbiota associated with the Ruppia and their potential role in promoting filamentous algal growth. This will be the focus of this project.
Supervisors: Leterme, S.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Antifouling solutions of autonomous platform
Autonomous underwater vehicles spend a lot of time underwater and are thus prone to fouling. As we optimise these vehicles to spend longer periods of time underwater, we also want to find better protections against biofouling for these highly specific vehicles.
The project will focus on the development of new coating solution and on testing these coatings in silico to observe potential microbial fouling.
The applicant should have foreknowledge in antifouling, microbiology & engineering.
Supervisors: Leterme, S., Sammut, K., & Andersson, M.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021
Synthesis AIEgen biosensors with thin film technologies
The recently developed VFD by Professor C Raston is a relatively inexpensive research tool for controlling chemical reactivity and selectivity, materials synthesis and probing the structure of self-organized systems, offering a range of benefits over conventional processing. The dynamic thin film within the VFD microfluidic platform is generated in a rapidly rotating surface, imparting high shear stress and micro-mixing. Highly emissive in the aggregated state, AIEgens develop novel sensing strategies that function in a photoluminescence turn-on mode which have not been synthesized by VFD.
The applicant should have foreknowledge in chemistry synthesis or chemical characterization background.
Supervisors: Tang, Y. & Raston, C.
Commencing: February 2021 or July 2021