Ultrasonic-Assisted Marine Antifouling Strategy on Gel-like Epoxy Primer

Ultrasonic technology has drawn extensive interests for its great potential in marine antifouling applications. However, its effects on the adhesion behavior of marine fouling organisms on marine structures remain underexplored. This work investigated how ultrasonic treatment impacted the adhesion ofPseudoalteromonason a gel-like marine epoxy primer. And the process parameters for ultrasonic treatment were optimized using response surface analysis with Design-Expert software 11. The results revealed that ultrasonic treatment disrupted the cellular structure ofPseudoalteromonas, causing the deformation and fragmentation of the cell membrane, leading to bacterial death. Additionally, ultrasonic treatment reduced the particle size and Zeta potential value ofPseudoalteromonas, which disrupted the stability of bacterial suspensions. It also increased the relative surface hydrophobicity ofPseudoalteromonascells, resulting in a reduction in adhesion to the gel-like marine epoxy primer. This study demonstrated that ultrasonic treatment significantly disturbed the adhesion behavior of microorganisms likePseudoalteromonason the gel-like marine epoxy primer, which provided an effective approach for controlling marine biofouling.