This week we finished setting up our first plates to test since I the RET program has started. We tried a different type of tape to hold down our membrane in the hopes that it would be non-conductive allowed all the conduction to take place in the membrane. Unfortunately, the tape showed signs of being conductive and also lost adhesion during the testing process.
We decided to wait an extra day before starting our experiment and as a result a thin layer of membrane like mucus formed at the very top of the dish. We had to remove this layer as best as we good with our mini net. The layer broke apart into smaller pieces and made recording accurate data a real pain.
One of our two dishes did provide good data as show on the computer screen below. The 1st image shows the setup of the experiment. The OCT and our two dishes connected to a anode (red) and Cathode (black).
The image below is of our membrane the solid white layer at the bottom and the biofilm the spotted layer above it. This was our recording before we began applying a current. It shows a clear build up of biofilm that we are trying to remove. It is a pretty beautiful image when you see it up close.
Do you know what made the biofilm build up so quickly in 24 hours? Does that happen normally? I know that some of the projects are to prevent biofilm build up I think, but this is a different phenomenon than those other projects are working on, right?
We grow our bacteria over 24 hours and then once plated it takes 3-4 days to fully form a good biofilm.