Biofilm Devices

Biofilms are collections of microorganisms and the extracellular polymers they secrete, attached to either inert or living substrata. Biofilm-related problems cost industry billions of dollars annually by corroding pipes, reducing heat transfer or hydraulic pressure in industrial cooling systems, plugging water injection jets, and clogging water filters. In addition, biofilms cause major medical problems through infection, harboring bacteria that contaminate drinking water, and causing rejection of medical implants.

Tyler Research manufactures a range of devices for the growth and analysis of biofilms on surfaces. These include modifications of the original Robbins Device (the LPMR-series) as well as an extensive line of medium and high-pressure Tyler Biofilm Systems, all of which are intended primarily for in-line growth, sampling and analysis of biofilms in industrial and laboratory environments.

The design of a successful biofilm system is dependent upon many factors, and we recommend that you contact us with your application so that we can work with you to develop the system most appropriate for your needs. Considerations such as pressure, flow rates, flow characteristics, anticipated temperature range, chemical resistance, sterilization procedures, coupon configuration, sampling frequency and space constraints, to name a few, will have a major impact on manifold design and performance.

The materials from which biofilm systems can be machined include metals (stainless steels, aluminum alloys, bronze and brass alloys, specialized ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, etc.) engineered plastics (polyimide, polyetheretherketone, Kel-F, Teflon, etc.) and plastics (transparent and opaque acrylics, polyvinylchloride, Corian, etc.).

In years of working with research and industrial clients, Tyler Research has developed a library of “standard” biofilm devices that may be suitable for novel applications as is, or with minimal modification.