Industrial Solutions

On a global scale, industry and society battle the impact of microbial biofilms, biofouling, and biocorrosion on a daily basis. Our awareness of the science of biofilms has grown from the days of innocuous slime in the 1980’s, to a deepened understanding of the powerful impact of this complex of bacteria and their protective polysaccharide matrix. Microbial biofilms are a remarkable adaptation to challenging environmental conditions…biofilms have been ensuring the survival of bacteria for over 3 billion years. Biofouling and biocorrosion result from the undesirable formation of microbial biofilms on many industrial surfaces. We now understand that the path to addressing biofouling lies in the ability to proactively prevent formation of this prolific biological polymer.

Microbion has established proof-of-concept in several important industrial areas with unmet needs. Microbion’s industrial pipeline is composed of bismuth-thiol compounds being developed to prevent microbial biofilms from contaminating water and water filtration units (affecting drinking water, wastewater, desalinization and industrial cooling water) as well as many industrial surfaces. It is our intention to prevent biofouling and biocorrosion, which are estimated to cost approximately $200 billion per year in the U.S. alone. We are currently seeking commercialization partners in this industrial space.