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The degradation of synthetic rubber surfaces by the adsorption of biofilms

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Abstract

Biofilms are said to feed on oil contents found in synthetic rubber compounds used in sealing, pipeline and water separation valve applications but the extent of the degradation is not known. This work provides a way of characterizing the microscopic degradation as a result of the microbial adsorption on the rubber compound surfaces. Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria were grown on ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber compounds having increasing oil amounts. Results revealed that the microorganisms adhered and fed more on the oil-rich surfaces than those with less oil or oil-less surfaces and promoted smooth morphologies with reduced surface roughness values. Furthermore, elongation at break results from tensile test measurement showed an increase in stiffness with increasing oil amount after the bacteria degradation. This work supports rubber engineers when selecting rubber compounds for water contact applications.

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Bacteria degradation at the rubber surfaces

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Acknowledgements

The authors will like to thank Dr. Nigel Hodson at the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester for his support and assistance in the AFM measurements and all colleagues at the Division of Pharmacy and Optometry School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester who supported the work.

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No funding was received for conducting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Charles Darko, Benhao Xin, Jiaxin Liu, Benliu Wang, Zihan Hu, Li Chen & Jie Zhang

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  1. Charles Darko
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  2. Benhao Xin
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  3. Jiaxin Liu
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Correspondence to Charles Darko.

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Darko, C., Xin, B., Liu, J. et al. The degradation of synthetic rubber surfaces by the adsorption of biofilms. Macromol. Res. 31, 933–940 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13233-023-00180-3

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