Method and device for detecting a biofilm
US6856937B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 2001 |
| Grant date | Feb 15, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 15, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N17/008
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for determining the thickness of a biofilm which is developed on a support which is immersed in an aqueous medium in which a biofilm develops, characterized in that it consists in the following: a) the medium is continuously circulated in an electrochemical cell comprising a reference electrode, an auxiliary electrode and at least one working electrode, b) circulation of said medium is interrupted and the cell is isolated; c) an electrochemical tracer is introduced into the medium present in the cell; d) the medium/tracer solution is circulated in the cell in order to direct a jet of said solution, perpendicular to the working electrode; e) the value of the tracer reduction limiting current is measured and recorded according to the hydrodynamic conditions on the surface of the working electrode; and f) the thickness of the porous layer of biofilm on the surface of the electrode is calculated according to the Koutecky-Levich relation, based on analysis of the transport of material through the porous layer which links the value of the tracer reduction limiting current to the solution flow.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.