Treatment Imaging Flow Cell

Flow Cell for Real-Time Microscopy of Biofilm During Treatment

The FC 310 Treatment Imaging Flow Cell was designed with the Center for Biofilm Engineering specifically for imaging biofilm from above during exposure to biocides, disinfectants, removal agents, or other treatment chemistries. The top-down viewing orientation provides direct observation of the irregular biofilm surface as it comes into contact with the treatment fluid.

The FC 310 accepts standard 12.7mm (0.5 in) disc coupons, the same format used in the CDC Biofilm Reactor®, Rotating Disk Biofilm Reactor, and Bio-inLine® Biofilm Reactor. The intended workflow is to grow biofilm on disc coupons in one of those reactors, then transfer individual coupons directly into the FC 310 for treatment imaging without disturbing the attached biofilm. The small internal liquid volume minimizes the amount of treatment compound required per experiment. The FC 310 can also be used to image biofilm developing on coupons in situ.

The FC 310 is machined from polycarbonate and is autoclavable and reusable, though polycarbonate will eventually degrade with repeated autoclave cycles. Standard influent and effluent connections are barbed ports compatible with size 16 (3mm ID) tubing. Alternate connection configurations are available. The flow cell is compatible with upright and inverted microscope stages using the FC 375 or FC 380 stage mounts, respectively.

FC 375 and FC 380 Stage Mounts

Both the FC 375 (upright) and FC 380 (inverted) are 3-position stage mounts that hold up to three FC 310 flow cells simultaneously on the microscope stage. This allows rapid switching between up to three coupons during a single treatment session, useful for comparing treatment efficacy at multiple timepoints, across multiple coupon materials, or between a treated sample and a control without removing the assembly from the microscope. The FC 375 mounts to a standard platform stage and the FC 380 mounts to an inverted microscope stage.