Buckyball coating

Duke University engineers have discovered that buckyballs hinder the ability of bacteria and other micro-organisms to accumulate on the membranes used to filter water in treatment plants.

They think that coating pipes and membranes with these nanoparticles may prove to be an effective strategy for addressing one of the major problems and costs of treating water.

'Just as plaque can build up inside arteries and reduce the flow of blood, bacteria and other micro-organisms can, over time, attach and accumulate on water-treatment membranes and along water pipes,' said So-Ryong Chae, post-doctoral fellow in Duke’s environmental and civil engineering department.

'As the bacteria build up on these surfaces, they attract other organic matter, creating a biofilm that slowly builds up over time,' Chae said. 'The results of our experiments in the laboratory indicate that buckyballs may be able to prevent this clogging, known as biofouling. The only other options to address biofouling are digging up the pipes and replacing the membranes, which can be expensive and inconvenient.'