The Effects of Cationic Surfactants on Marine Biofilm Growth on Hydrogels

A method for the quantification of biofilm formation on hydrogel protective coatings for optical sensors and cameras has been developed using fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis. In conjunction with these measurements the release of the fouling resistant cationic surfactants benzalkonium chloride, tallowbenzyldimethylammonium chloride and dicocodimethylammonium chloride was measured, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), to enable correlation to be made between release and biofilm resistance and thus determine the active lifetime of such coatings. Results indicate that the twin-chained material, dicocodimethylammonium chloride, produced superior biofouling resistance as, at the 12 week time point, little fouling was detected on this coating. The hydrogel containing the long-chained tallowbenzyldimethylammonium chloride (mainly C16 and C18 chains) was the next best fouling resistant material, withstanding biofilm formation for 9 weeks. This correlates with the fact that each of these materials had an extremely slow to zero release rate, due to their irreversible binding to the hydrogel over the experimental timescale. In comparison the shorter chained benzalkonium chloride (mainly C12 and C14), showed signs of biofilm formation at the 3 week time point.