Buckyballs Could Reduce Biofouling of Membranes and Pipes

An interesting article in the March 6, 2009 issue of The R&D Daily e-newsletter entitled "Buckyballs could keep waterworks from clogging" introduced how using buckyballs, engineers in Duke University's Environmental and Civil Engineering department hindered the ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to accumulate on the membranes used to filter water in treatment plants. This leads these researchers to propose coating pipes and membranes with these nanoparticles may reduce biofouling. The results of these experiments were published March 5, 2009 in the Journal of Membrane Sciences.