The mitigation potential of synergistic quorum quenching and antibacterial properties for biofilm proliferation and membrane biofouling

Biofouling has been a persistent problem hindering the application of membranes in water treatment, and quorum quenching has been identified as an effective method for mitigating biofouling, but surface accumulation of live bacteria still induces biofilm secretion, which poses a significant challenge for sustained prevention of membrane biofouling. In this study, we utilized quercetin, a typical flavonoid with the dual functions of quorum quenching and bacterial inactivation, to evaluate its role in preventing biofilm proliferation and against biofouling. Quercetin exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and the decreased bioactivity was positively correlated with the quercetin concentration, with inhibition rates of 53.1 % and 57.4 %, respectively, at the experimental concentrations. The RT-qPCR results demonstrated that quercetin inhibited AI-2 of E. coli and AGR of S. aureus mediated quorum sensing system, and reduced the expression of genes such as adhesion, virulence, biofilm secretion, and key regulatory proteases. As a result, the bacterial growth cycle was retarded and the biomass and biofilm maturation cycles were alleviated with the synergistic effect of quorum quenching and antibacterial activity. In addition, membrane biofouling was significantly declined in the dynamic operation experiments, dead cells in the biofilm overwhelmingly dominated, and the final normalized water fluxes were increased by more than 49.9 % and 34.5 % for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. This work demonstrates the potential for mitigating biofouling using protocols that quorum quenching and inactivate bacteria, also provides a unique and long-lasting strategy to alleviate membrane fouling.