Using solute/ micro organism comparative tracer testing to investigate hydrogeological heterogeneity in a fluvioglacial sand and gravel aquifer.

Groundwater drawn from fluvioglacial sand and gravel aquifers form the principal source of drinking water in many part of central Western Europe. High population densities and widespread organic agriculture in these same areas constitute hazards that may impact the microbiological quality of many potable supplies. Tracer testing comparing two similarly sized bacteria (E.coli and P. putida) and the smaller bacteriophage (H40/1) with the response of non-reactive solute tracer (uranine) at the decametre scale revealed that all tracers broke through up to 100 times more quickly than anticipated using conventional rules of thumb. All microbiological tracer responses were less disperse than the solute, although bacterial peak relative concentrations consistently exceeded those of the solute tracer at one sampling location reflecting exclusion processes influencing micro biological tracer migration. Relative recoveries of H40/1 and E.coli proved consistent at both monitoring wells, while responses of H40/1 and P.putida differed. Examination of exposures of the upper reaches of the aquifer in nearby sand and gravel quarries revealed the aquifer to consist of laterally extensive layers of open framework (OW) gravel enveloped in finer grained gravelly sand. Granulometric analysis of these deposits suggested that the OW gravel was up to two orders of magnitude more permeable than the surrounding deposits giving rise to the preferential flow paths. By contrast fine grained lenses of silty sand within the OW gravels are suspected to play an important role in the exclusion processes that permit solutes to access them but exclude larger micro organisms.

Trypanosoma brucei: a model micro-organism to study eukaryotic phospholipid biosynthesis

Although the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, can acquire lipids from its environment, recent reports have shown that it is also capable of de novo synthesis of all major phospholipids. Here we provide an overview of the biosynthetic pathways involved in phospholipid formation in T. brucei and highlight differences to corresponding pathways in other eukaryotes, with the aim of promoting trypanosomes as an attractive model organism to study lipid biosynthesis. We show that de novo synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine involving CDP-activated intermediates is essential in T. brucei and that a reduction in its cellular content affects mitochondrial morphology and ultrastructure. In addition, we highlight that reduced levels of phosphatidylcholine inhibit nuclear division, suggesting a role for phosphatidylcholine formation in the control of cell division. Furthermore, we discuss possible routes leading to phosphatidylserine and cardiolipin formation in T. brucei and review the biosynthesis of phosphatidylinositol, which seems to take place in two separate compartments. Finally, we emphasize that T. brucei represents the only eukaryote so far that synthesizes all three sphingophospholipid classes, sphingomyelin, inositolphosphorylceramide and ethanolaminephosphorylceramide, and that their production is developmentally regulated.

Biodegradation of 1080: Testing soils in south-eastern Australia for sodium fluoroacetate-degrading micro-organisms

Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) is a vertebrate poison commonly used for the control of vertebrate pests in Australia. Long-term environmental persistence of 1080 from baiting operations has likely nontarget species and environmental impacts and is a matter of public concern. Defluorinating micro-organisms have been detected in soils of Western and central Australia, and Queensland, but not in south-eastern Australia. The presence or absence of defluorinating micro-organisms in soils from south-eastern Australia will assist in determining whether long-term environmental persistence of 1080 is or is not occurring. Soils from the Central West Slopes and Plains and Central Tablelands of New South Wales were sampled to investigate the presence and capability of 1080 defluorinating soil micro-organisms. Thirty-one species of micro-organisms were isolated from soils from each site after 10 days incubation in a 20 mM 1080 solution. Of these, 13 isolates showed measurable defluorinating ability when grown in a 1080 and sterile soil suspension. Two species, the bacteria Micromonospora, and the actinomycete Streptosporangium, have not been previously reported for their defluorinating ability. These results indicate that defluorinating micro-organisms are present in soils in south-eastern Australia, which adds weight to other studies that found that 1080 is subject to microbiological degradative processes following removal from the bait substrate. Soil micro-organism defluorination, in combination with physical breakdown and uptake by plants, indicates that fluoroacetate in soils and natural water ways is unlikely to persist. This has implications for the better informed use of 1080 in pest animal management programmes in south-eastern Australia.

A preliminary survey of micro-organisms in the gut and pellets of a tropical millipede Doratogonus uncinatus Attems (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Spirostreptidae).

Millipede gut microbiology and decomposition of faecal pellets over a period of eight weeks were studied in the laboratory. Bacterial numbers, carbon and nitrogen content, pH and weight loss were monitored. Heterotrophic bacteria were the most abundant and reached a peak in the first two weeks of decomposition. The amount of carbon was constant while ammonium nitrogen decreased from 1.51 % to 0.03 % after eight weeksThe pH of the pellets was slightly acidic and did not change much during the course of decomposition. A succession of micro-organisms was observed on decomposing pellets. Zygomycetes were replaced by Ascomycetes after 20 days of decomposition. Decomposition was significantly affected by temperature. The rate of decomposition was highest at 35[degree]C .

The application of TiO2 photocatalysis for disinfection of water contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms: a review

The use of semiconductor photocatalysis for treatment of water and air has been the topic of intense research activity over the past 20 years. This powerful process has also been extended to the disinfection of environments contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms. This review summarizes recent developments concerned with the photocatalytic treatment of water contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms presenting a potential hazard to animals and human beings.

A comparison of the effectiveness of TiO2 photocatalysis and UVA photolysis for the destruction of three pathogenic micro-organisms

TiO₂ photocatalysis has demonstrated efficacy as a treatment process for water contaminated with chemical pollutants. When exposed to UVA light TiO₂ also demonstrates an effective bactericidal activity. The mechanism of this process has been reported to involve attack by valence band generated hydroxyl radicals. In this study when three common bacterial pathogens, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were exposed to TiO₂ and UVA light a substantial decrease in bacterial numbers was observed. Control experiments in which all three pathogens were exposed to UVA light only resulted in a similar reduction in bacterial numbers. Moreover, exposure to UVA light alone resulted in the production of a smaller than average colony phenotype among the surviving bacteria, for all three pathogens examined, a finding which was not observed following treatment with UVA and TiO₂. Small slow growing colonies have been described for several pathogenic bacteria and are referred to as small colony variants. Several studies have demonstrated an association between small colony variants and persistent, recurrent and antibiotic resistant infections. We propose that the production of small colony variants of pathogenic bacteria following UVA treatment of drinking water may represent a health hazard. As these small colony variants were not observed with the UVA/TiO₂ system this potential hazard is not a risk when using this technology. It would also appear that the bactericidal mechanism is different with the UVA/TiO₂ process compared to when UVA light is used alone.

Colonisation of soft lining materials by micro-organisms

Objective:This study evaluated the in vitro adherence of pathogenic micro-organisms, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to soft lining materials and their inhibitory effect on these micro-organisms.Materials and Methods:To measure adherence, specimens of Molloplast B and Ufi Gel P were inoculated [107 colony-forming units per millimetre (cfu/ml)] with TSB media containing the micro-organisms. To determine the number of micro-organisms in the 10-2-10-5 dilutions, 25 mu l of the suspension were transferred to plates of selective media. Colony counts of each specimen were quantified (cfu/ml). The surface roughness was measured with a perfilometer to assess the relationship between the adherence of micro-organisms and surface roughness of each material. For the inhibition test, specimens of materials were placed in agar plates inoculated individually with the micro-organisms. After 48 h, the inhibition zones around the specimens were measured.Results:None of the materials exhibited inhibition zones. The number of cfu/ml of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were significantly greater than C. albicans for both materials. The Ufi Gel P exhibited greater adherence of C. albicans than Molloplast B. No correlation was observed between the adherence of micro-organisms and surface roughness.Conclusion:The surface roughness of the materials is not the only factor governing micro-organism adherence.

Prevalência de Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella spp. e micro-organismos indicadores de contaminação em bovinos abatidos em estabelecimento de exportação

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Inactivation and structural changes of E. Cloacae and B. Subtilis Endospores during IR laser water treatment

IR radiation has been studied for micro-organism inactivation of bacterial spores on metal substrates [1] and on metal and paper substrates [2]. A near-point near infrared laser water treatment apparatus for use in dental hand-pieces was also developed [3]. To date water sterilisation research using a mid-IR laser technique is very rare. According to the World Health Organisation [4], examinations for faecal indicator bacteria remain the most sensitive and specific way of assessing the hygienic quality of water. Bacteria that fall into this group are E. coli, other coliform bacteria (including E. cloacae) and to a lesser extent, faecal streptococci [5]. Protozoan cysts from organisms which cause giardiasis are the most frequently identified cause of waterborne diseases in developed countries [6,7]. The use of aerobic bacterial endospores to monitor the efficiency of various water treatments has been shown to provide a reliable and simple indicator of overall performance of water treatment[8,9].The efficacy of IR radiation for water disinfection compared to UV treatment has been further investigated in the present study. In addition FTIR spectroscopy in conjunction with Principle Component Analysis was used to characterise structural changes within the bacterial cells and endospores following IR laser treatment. Changes in carbohydrate content of E. cloacae following IR laser treatment were observed.

An NAD(P)(+)-dependent secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus: Purification, characterization and its application for the production of chiral alcohols

A soil micro-organism identified as Alcaligenes eutrophus capable of utilizing nerolidol, a sesquiterpene alcohol as the sole source of carbon, contains an inducible NAD(P)(+)-linked secondary-alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH), The enzyme was purified 252-fold from crude cell-free extract by a combination of salt precipitation, ion-exchange and affinity-matrix chromatography, Native and SDS/PAGE PAGE of the purified enzyme showed a single protein band and the enzyme appears to be a homotetramer having an apparent molecular mass of 139 kDa comprising four identical subunits of 38.5 kDa, The isoelectric point (pi) of SADH was determined to be 6.2, Depending on pH of the reaction media, the enzyme carried out both oxidation and reductions of various terpenoids and steroids, At pH 5.5, the enzyme catalysed the stereospecific reduction of prochiral ketones to optically active (S)-alcohols and the oxidation reaction was predominated over the former at pH 9.5, NADP(+) and NADPH were respectively preferred over NAD(+) and NADH for oxidation and reduction reactions, The K-m values for testosterone, NADP(+) and NAD(+) were 11.8, 55.6, and 122 mu M respectively, Neither enzyme was significantly inhibited by metal-binding agents, but some thiol-blocking compounds inhibited it, SADH tolerates moderate concentrations of water-miscible organic solvents such as ethanol, methanol, acetone and dioxan, Some of the properties of this enzyme were found to be significantly different from those thus far described.

Estudo do crescimento bacteriano e da aplicação de procedimentos de limpeza e desinfecção no aço inoxidável 304L

Técnicas de limpeza química ou mecânica são comumente empregadas para evitar a formação de biofilmes e problemas associados com a colonização de superfícies por micro-organismos. Neste trabalho, amostras de aço inox 304L foram submetidas a ensaios acelerados de crescimento de biofilme, o qual foi posteriormente removido por tratamentos de limpeza e desinfecção (choque térmico com água a 70C por 1h, limpeza com ácido fosfórico 20 % v/v por 30min e desinfecção com peróxido de hidrogênio 0,17 % v/v por 1h). Com o objetivo de verificar a influência destes tratamentos na remoção do biofilme, este foi caracterizado (por quantificação microbiana e análises de espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica - EIE), antes e após a aplicação dos tratamentos. Dois casos foram estudados. No primeiro caso, simularam-se condições presentes em tubulações de ambientes hospitalares e sistemas de distribuição de água quente. O micro-organismo utilizado foi a bactéria Serratia marcences. O processo de formação de biofilme e posterior limpeza e desinfecção foi realizado de modo contínuo durante 15 semanas. Os resultados de quantificação microbiana e de EIE mostraram que desde a primeira semana de exposição e ao longo dos ensaios, formou-se um biofilme aderente à superfície do aço e que o emprego dos tratamentos de limpeza e desinfecção não foi eficaz na remoção do biofilme. Em um segundo caso, simularam-se condições presentes em tubulações da indústria de água mineral, empregando-se a bactéria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Neste caso, as técnicas de limpeza e desinfecção foram aplicadas individualmente e em conjunto. A aplicação de choque térmico, assim como da limpeza ácida, sobre um biofilme com 72 h de formação foi capaz de eliminar as bactérias viáveis, presentes na superfície do aço. Entretanto, a desinfecção com peróxido de hidrogênio não foi capaz de eliminá-las. Nas duas condições, porém, as análises de EIE do sistema aço/biofilme mostraram que o mesmo não foi completamente removido da superfície do metal. Correlacionando os dois casos, pode-se inferir que a superfície do aço inox 304L é rapidamente colonizada pelas duas espécies microbianas e que as técnicas de limpeza e desinfecção são capazes de reduzir e até eliminar as células viáveis, embora não removam completamente o biofilme da superfície. Por outro lado, é importante ressaltar que fatores como a arquitetura, espessura e porosidade do biofilme, e propriedades intrínsecas da superfície, são fatores que afetam os valores de impedância medidos, sendo necessário considerá-los na análise, tanto da formação do biofilme, quanto dos efeitos dos procedimentos de limpeza e desinfecção

Influence of selected Indian immunostimulant herbs against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon with reference to haematological, biochemical and immunological changes

Immunostimulants are the substances, which enhance the non-specific defence mechanism and provide resistance against the invading pathogenic micro-organism. In order to increase the immunity of shrimps against the WSSV, the methanolic extracts of five different herbal medicinal plants like Cyanodon dactylon, Aegle marmelos, Tinospora cordifolia, Picrorhiza kurooa and Eclipta alba were selected and mixed thoroughly in equal proportion. The mixed extract was supplemented with various concentrations viz. 100 (A), 200 (B), 400 (C), and 800 (D) mg kg(-1) through artificial diets individually. The prepared diets (A-D) were fed individually to WSSV free healthy shrimp Penaeus monodon with an average weight of 8.0 +/- 0.5 g for 25 days. Control diet (E), devoid of herbal extract was also fed to shrimps simultaneously. After 25 days of feeding experiment, the shrimps were challenged with WSSV, which were isolated and propagated from the infected crustaceans. The shrimps succumbed to death within 7 days when fed on no herbal immunostimulant diet (E). Among the different concentrations of herbal immunostimulant supplemented diets, the shrimps fed on diet D (800 mg kg(-1)) significantly (P < 0.0001) had more survival (74%) and reduction in the viral load. Also the better performance of haematological, biochemical and immunological parameters was found in the immunostimulant incorporated diets fed shrimps. The present work revealed that the application of herbal immunostimulants will be effective against shrimp viral pathogenesis and they can be recommended for shrimp culture. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

功能菌剂的混合发酵研究

随着化工行业的发展，大量有毒有害难降解有机物随工业废水的排放进入环境，这些物质能够在环境中长期存在、积累和扩散，通过食物链对动植物的生存及人类的健康造成不良影响。本文以苯酚、对氯硝基苯、氯苯和十六烷为模拟污染物，以前期研制的功能菌剂为对象，经过紫外线线诱变筛选出优于出发菌株的功能菌，对诱变后功能菌的理化性能进行了研究，对菌种进行了鉴定，在此基础上，就其相互之间的微生态关系进行研究，为混合发酵提供理论基础，并就其最佳发酵条件及发酵参数进行了研究，最后对发酵产品的性能进行了检测。目前，国内外有关功能菌剂的研究还存在多方面的不足，主要包括：①由于多菌种混合发酵过程较为复杂，各菌之间存在复杂的相互作用，影响因素较多，关于菌种之间的相互关系研究得很少，环境功能菌剂的发酵方法大多采用单独发酵后混合的方式。单独发酵对原材料、设备和能源的利用率较低，对于多菌种制剂发酵，在设备、能源和原材料的方面造成的浪费更大，将会大幅增加菌剂的生产成本，影响多菌种功能菌剂的发展；②功能菌剂生产过程的质量控制方面研究得较少；③功能菌剂产品的稳定性、抗冲击性能研究得较少，对环境微生物制剂的研究主要集中在菌种选育和培养条件优化方面。 通过本论文研究，得到以下主要结论。 （1）在紫外线诱变处理中，用紫外线对发生一定程度退化的出发菌株进行诱变处理后，六株具有高效降解性能的菌株被筛选出来，诱变筛选出的菌株形态和ERIC-PCR指纹图谱与出发菌株相比发生了明显改变；而且诱变后的菌株对目标难降解底物的降解能力均得到改善，其中，FPN、FCB、F14、FEm对目标底物的降解率提高了20%以上；诱变后菌株经过7次连续传代接种后，对目标难降解底物的降解率无显著变化，具有一定的遗传稳定性。并对诱变后的功能菌进行了初步的鉴定，这6株菌都分别是芽孢杆菌。 （2）对诱变后的功能菌相互之间的微生态关系进行了研究，通过抑菌实验、生长量以及基质消耗量的比较，确定它们之间的生长关系是无害共栖关系，可以进行混合发酵。 （3）对该功能菌剂进行发酵培养条件研究，结果表明发酵培养基的最佳成分（g/L）：葡萄糖 31.0g/L、玉米粉10.0g/L、磷酸氢二钾1.0g/L、硫酸铵1.1g/L、硫酸镁0.55g/L。通过研究不同的培养条件对菌体生长和降解性能的影响，确定了最佳培养条件：培养基初始pH7.5；最适温度32℃；培养基装液量125mL（250 mL三角瓶），以及培养时间对降解性能的影响，培养20 h的产物对降解最为有利。通过研究添加不同目标污染物对菌体生长和降解性能的影响，确定了添加目标污染物的最佳量以及最佳时间：苯酚投加量：1.125 g/L，对氯硝基苯投加量：0.1 g/L；最佳投加时间为发酵培养开始后4 h。 （4）以摇瓶分批发酵最优条件为基础，对FPN、F10、FCB、FNa、F14 和 FEm进行了摇瓶分批发酵试验。以摇瓶分批发酵试验数据为依据，对功能菌剂分批发酵动力学进行了研究，建立了菌体生长和基质消耗的动力学模型，拟合模型能较好的反映功能菌剂分批发酵过程。 （5）功能菌剂和活性污泥协同作用，可以提高系统的生物降解能力，功能菌剂投加量为2%，新鲜活性污泥3500 mg/L，降解24 h条件下，功能菌剂和活性污泥的协同作用对COD的去除率和对照组相比，最多的提高了36.8%。功能菌剂和活性污泥协同作用以及活性污泥的单独作用，其生物降解过程均符合一级反应动力学过程，功能菌剂和活性污泥协同作用的生物降解动力学方程为：，相关系数97%。采用SBR运行方式，引入功能菌剂的SBR系统明显能够改善和提高生物降解的效率。与仅有活性污泥的系统相比，系统对COD的平均去除率可以提高27.1%，同时，系统的耐负荷冲击以及耐毒害冲击的性能比仅有活性污泥的SBR系统强，特别是负荷冲击对引入功能菌剂的SBR系统影响很小。仅有活性污泥的SBR系统经过负荷冲击和毒害冲击之后，不能恢复到冲击之前的水平，而且系统有效作用时间的周期比引入功能菌剂的SBR系统相比大大缩短，而引入功能菌剂的SBR系统处理效果较为稳定，恢复能力很强。 Along with the development of industries, many recalcitrant organic chemicals have been discharged into natural environments together with wastewaters and can exist in waters, soil and sediments for a long time without degradation. These haz-ardous substances, their byporducts and metabolizabilities can be highly toxic, mu-tagenic and carcinogenic, thereby threatening animals, plants and human health through food chain. Consequently the removal of these compounds is of significant interest in the area of wastewater treatment. In this dissertation, the phenol, hydro-quinone, chlorobenzene and hexadecane treated as the model pollutants, the func-tional microorganism agent was used as the starting strains, they treated with ultra-violet light, and then the mutant strains with high degradation ability were screened out and identified primarily, the relationship between these stains were studied, the medium composition and fermentation conditions were optimized, the degradation ability of the fermented production was tested. The literature survey indicates that the study of the microorganism agent is far from complete and more information is re-quired on following problems. 1, Because of the complexity of relationship in mixed fermentation and the complicated factors, the study is hardly to process.2, There is a lack of information on the quality control of the producing process .3, And there is a lack of information on the stability about the microorganism agent. In this dissertation, the main results of the present study could be summarized as follows: (1)The degenerate starting strains were treated with the ultraviolet light, and six mutant strains with high biodegradation ability were screened out by using the me-dium with selective pressure of model pollutants. The mutant strains had great changes in colonialmorphology and ERIC-PCR fingerprinting. And the mutant strains got obvious advantages over the starting strains in degradation ability and over 20% improvement of removal rates was achieved for FPN、FCB、F14 and FEm. The de-gradation ability of the mutant strains was stable after seven generations. After that, the mutant strains were primarily identified as bacillus respectively. (2) The relationship between these mutant strains was studied. By the compari-son of antibiosis effect, biomass and consumption of substrate, the relationships were neutralism and they could be mixed fermented. (3) The optimized cultivation conditions were as follows: glucose 31.0 g/L, corn power 10 g/L, K2HPO4 1.0 g/L, (NH4)2SO4 1.1 g/L, MgSO4 0.55 g/L, initial pH7.5, temperature 32℃, working volume 125 mL/250 mL, and cultivation time 20h (con-sidering the time effect on degradation ability), adding pollutants phenol (1.125 g/L) and hydroquinone (0.1 g/L) into the broth at 4 h after cultivation. (4) Based on the above optimum condition, the batch fermentation was per-formed with strains FPN, F10, FCB, FNa, F14 and FEm in shake flask. The batch fermentation kinetics was studied based on the experimental data. Two kinetic models were constructed which could reflect the regularity of growth and substrate consump-tion in the process of batch fermentation. (5) The co-operation of functional microorganism agent and activated sludge could raise biodegradation of system by adding some microorganism agent and 3500 mg/L fresh activated sludge. Bioaugumentation by the addition of high effective deg-radation culture enhanced the treatment effect of SBR system and the COD removal rate was increased by 20%-36.8%. Its biodegradation matched first-order dynamical reaction equation, and the reaction equation was ln0.2327.391ct=−+. The micro-organism agent had the effect of optimization to activated sludge micro-ecosystem. The SBR system adding 2% microorganism agent, the average COD removal rate of that was increased by 27.1% and stronger anti-shock ability to load and toxicant were achieved (compared with SBR system just adding activated sludge). Especially the load-shock has barely effect to the SBR system adding microorganism agent. After the load and toxicant shock, the SBR system just adding activated sludge couldn’t come back to original level and the activated sludge micro-ecosystem was frustrated. The applying of microorganism agent increased biological activity and system’s re-sistance ability to load shock and toxicant shock.

Haematite in Lateritic Soils Aids Groundwater Disinfection

Microbiologically contaminated water severely impacts public health in low-income countries, where treated water supplies are often inaccessible to much of the population. Groundwater represents a water source that commonly has better microbiological quality than surface water. A 2-month intensive flow and quality monitoring programme of a spring in a densely settled, unsewered parish of Kampala, Uganda, revealed the persistent presence of high chloride and nitrate concentrations that reflect intense loading of sewage in the spring’s catchment. Conversely, thermotolerant coliform bacteria counts in spring water samples remained very low outside of periods of intense rainfall. Laboratory investigations of mechanisms responsible for this behavior, achieved by injecting a pulse of H40/1 bacteriophage tracer into a column packed with locally derived granular laterite, resulted in near-total tracer adsorption. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed the laterite to consist predominantly of quartz and kaolinite, with minor amounts (<5%) of haematite. Batch studies comparing laterite adsorption capacity with a soil having comparable mineralogy, but with amorphous iron oxide rather than haematite, showed the laterite to have a significantly greater capacity to adsorb bacteriophage. Batch study results using pure haematite confirmed that its occurrence in laterite contributes substantially to micro-organism attenuation observed and serves to protect underlying groundwater.

THE EFFECTS OF 3 NON-ANTIBIOTIC, ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS ON THE SURFACE HYDROPHOBICITY OF CERTAIN MICROORGANISMS EVALUATED BY DIFFERENT METHODS

The effects of three non-antibiotic, antimicrobial agents (taurolidine, chlorhexidine acetate and providone-iodine) on the surface hydrophobicity of the clinical strains Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans were examined. Three recognized techniques for hydrophobicity measurements, Bacterial Adherence to Hydrocarbons (BATH), the Salt Aggregation Test (SAT) and Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC) were compared. At concentrations reported to interfere with microbial-epithelial cell adherence, all three agents altered the cell surface hydrophobicity. However, these effects failed to exhibit a uniform relationship. Generally, taurolidine and povidone-iodine treatments decreased the hydrophobicity of the strains examined whereas chlorhexidine acetate effects depended upon the micro-organism treated. Subsequently, the exact contribution of altered cell surface hydrophobicity to the reported microbial anti-adherence effects is unclear. Comparison of the three techniques revealed a better correlation between the results obtained with the BATH test and HIC than the results obtained with the BATH and SAT or SAT and HIC. However, these differences may be due to the inaccuracy associated with the visual assessment of results employed by the SAT.