b'Case Study BIOFILM RESEARCH INFORMS MARINE COATINGS DESIGNSupporting academic and industrial partnerships to tackle global biofilm problemsBiofilms, and other marine organisms such as barnacles and algae, often accumulate on underwater surfaces and result in biofouling. This increases drag resistance, and thus causes greater fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and can cause the spread of invasive marine species. Preventing microbial biofouling from occurring in an environmentally sound and economical fashion is one of the key targets of NBIC and our Proof of Concept funding programme.Despite current antifouling measures, removal of slime and other Current fouling control coatings, such as low adhesionmarine organisms still incurs significant costs for the shipping industry.paints or biocidal antifouling paints, help prevent organisms attaching themselves to ship hulls. Thesein diameter are attached to a shaft, which is spun by save the shipping industry around $60 billion pera motor. When the spinning discs are submerged in a year, but researchers and ship owners are continuallytank of water, the torque, or resistance to the motor, seeking new ways to further reduce the effects ofis measured. The discs used by the team are much biofouling.smaller than the ~30cm discs, which have been more Marine coatings specialists International Paint Ltdwidely used in marine fouling studies. The smaller are part of the worlds largest paints and coatingsscale allows for experimental flexibility, and multiple company, AkzoNobel. A new device to help understandcoatings can be screened with replication within one the drag caused by biofilm growth on ship hulls, wassea exposure of a board mounted with many discs. This developed by Dr Jennifer Longyear at Internationalrapid screen is a more efficient and cost-effective way Paint Ltd and Professor Paul Stoodley at the Universityfor coatings companies to screen expensive or difficult-of Southampton, alongside Dr Stefania Fabbri atto-apply coatings, such as patterning, without having to AkzoNobel, and Dr Simon Dennington at Southampton.coat a much larger disc. Professor Stoodley said,Using a 73,000 grant via the UK Biofilms ProgrammeIts been a very successful project. I really hope funded by BBSRC and Innovate UK, the researchersit continues and Im really interested to see what built a marine biofilm flow cell to see how differentInternational Paint want to do with this. surface coatings, such as antifouling paint, affect how biofilms grow and cause drag. Further Proof of Concept funding from NBIC, supported by BBSRC, Innovate UK and STFCs Hartree Centre, Alongside the flow cell, the team further advanced ahas allowed the group to continue their research and small scale, high volume rheometry testing methoddevelop new materials which behave like biofilms, with developed in the Stoodley lab.Discs of around 40mmwhich they have been able to refine the system. Dr Longyear joinedProfessor Stoodley was International Paint Ltd inProfessor of Microbial 2010. She obtained her PhDTribology within Engineering in Engineering at Universityand Physical Sciences at the of Southampton in 2020,University of Southampton, researching methodsbefore moving to Ohio for quantifying marineState University to become microfouling. Professor of Microbial Dr Jennifer Longyear Professor PaulInfection and ImmunityStoodleyand Director.42'