Diffusion of lactose in acidogenic biofilms

Effective diffusivity of lactose in active acidogenic biofilms was measured at 35 degrees C and pH 4.6 with a specially designed diffusion cell. The diffusion cell was designed and operated in such a way that the lactose concentrations on the surface and at the center of a living bacterial aggregate could be measured at steady state. As a model parameter in a widely accepted reaction-diffusion equation which describes lactose distribution in living biofilms, the effective diffusivity of lactose in the biofilms was found to be about 65% of the lactose diffusivity in free solutions. It was experimentally determined that the active biofilms had about 66% void volume made up of channels through which the lactose molecules were transported into the bacterial aggregates. Therefore, the decrease in lactose diffusivity was mainly caused by the biofilm's solid biomass fraction rather than the tortuosity of the channels