The interaction of Escherichia coli and magnesium trisilicate in aqueous suspension

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
E. coli interacted strongly with magnesium trisilicate particles in buffer solution with aggregation of the particles and ready removal of bacteria from suspension, an equilibrium being attained between adhering and unattached cells. The relation between log10 (uptake bacteria g−1 magnesium trisilicate) and log10 (equilibrium concentration bacteria cm−3) suggested some analogy to the Langmuir type adsorption of solutes. Since both bacteria and particles possessed moderate negative electrical charges of similar magnitude, their interaction is thought to be due to long range additive Van der Waals forces rather than by electrostatic attraction.