Engineered antifouling microtopographies – effect of feature size, geometry, and roughness on settlement of zoospores of the green alga Ulva

Abstract

The effect of feature size, geometry, and roughness on the settlement of zoospores of the ship fouling alga Ulva was evaluated using engineered microtopographies in polydimethylsiloxane elastomer. The topographies studied were designed at a feature spacing of 2 μm and all significantly reduced spore settlement compared to a smooth surface. An indirect correlation between spore settlement and a newly described engineered roughness index (ERI) was identified. ERI is a dimensionless ratio based on Wenzel's roughness factor, depressed surface fraction, and the degree of freedom of spore movement. Uniform surfaces of either 2 μm diameter circular pillars (ERI = 5.0) or 2 μm wide ridges (ERI = 6.1) reduced settlement by 36% and 31%, respectively. A novel multi-feature topography consisting of 2 μm diameter circular pillars and 10 μm equilateral triangles (ERI = 8.7) reduced spore settlement by 58%. The largest reduction in spore settlement, 77%, was obtained with the Sharklet AF™ topography (ERI = 9.5).

Keywords:

• Biofouling
• surface topography
• microtopography
• antifouling
• algae
• Ulva

Acknowledgements

ABB, JAC, and MEC gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Office of Naval Research (Contract No. #N00014-02-1-0325 to ABB, and Contract No. #N00014-02-1-0521 to JAC & MEC).