Attachment of Arcobacter butzleri, a new waterborne pathogen, to water distribution pipe surfaces

Abstract

The capability of Arcobacter butzleri to attach to various water distribution pipe surfaces, such as stainless steel, copper, and plastic, was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Our results indicated that Arcobacter cells could easily attach to all surface types and the number of attached cells depended on the length of exposure and temperatures (4 and 20 degrees C). Extracellular fibrils were also observed on the stainless steel surface, especially after 72 h of contact times at both refrigeration and ambient temperatures. In addition, the surface energy value of each material was estimated by contact angle measurements using water, alpha-bromonaphthalene, and dimethylsulfoxide. The surface energy of A. butzleri was 58.6 mJ x m(-2) and the surface energy values of the three surfaces studied showed that plastic had a low energy surface (26.1 mJ x m(-2)) as did copper (45.8 mJ x m(-2)) and stainless steel (65.7 mJ x m(-2)).