Inhibitory effects of D-ribose on biofilm development of Escherichia coli

Inhibition of biofilm formation can promote the operation of water system such as membrane bio-reactor. This paper investigated the effects of D-ribose on biofilm development of Escherichia coli. The results showed that the D-ribose could arrest biofilm formation of E. coli. The decrease in attached biofilm biomass reached 17.95% with 100 mu M D-ribose. Bacterial attachment experiments indicated that the attachment of E. coli to polyvinylidene fluoride membrane was inhibited with D-ribose (10 mu M to 5 mM). And the attachment was weak with the addition of D-ribose. Further research showed that 10 mu M-5 mM D-ribose could inhibit the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion of E. coli. The inhibition was obvious at 100 and 500 mu M D-ribose. Moreover, the addition of D-ribose increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, which might be the reason of EPS reduction.