Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)

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At the Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE), multidisciplinary research teams develop beneficial uses for microbial biofilms and find solutions to industrially relevant biofilm problems. The CBE was established at Montana State University, Bozeman, in 1990 as a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. As part of the MSU College of Engineering, the CBE gives students a chance to get a head start on their careers by working on research teams led by world-recognized leaders in the biofilm field.

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Author: search.filters.author.Foreman, Christine M.Subject: search.filters.subject.biofilm

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    Clothing Textiles as Carriers of Biological Ice Nucleation Active Particles
    (American Chemical Society, 2024-03) Teska, Christy J.; Dieser, Markus; Foreman, Christine M.
    Microplastics have littered the globe, with synthetic fibers being the largest source of atmospheric microplastics. Many atmospheric particles can act as ice nucleators, thereby affecting the microphysical and radiative properties of clouds and, hence, the radiative balance of the Earth. The present study focused on the ice-nucleating ability of fibers from clothing textiles (CTs), which are commonly shed from the normal wear of apparel items. Results from immersion ice nucleation experiments showed that CTs were effective ice nucleators active from −6 to −12 °C, similar to common biological ice nucleators. However, subsequent lysozyme and hydrogen peroxide digestion stripped the ice nucleation properties of CTs, indicating that ice nucleation was biological in origin. Microscopy confirmed the presence of biofilms (i.e., microbial cells attached to a surface and enclosed in an extracellular polysaccharide matrix) on CTs. If present in sufficient quantities in the atmosphere, biological particles (biofilms) attached to fibrous materials could contribute significantly to atmospheric ice nucleation.
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