engleski

An electrochemical approach to aggregation of organic matter in seawater

Electrochemical approach for direct measurement of reactive components involved in the aggregation process starting from surface-active extracellular polymers, through small coloids and surface-active aggregates to the macroscopic gel structure will be presented. The new electrochemical technique, suitable for field work, was developed for direct measurement of organic particles in seawater in terms of abundance, size and reactivity (stickiness coefficient of the particles). Chemically inert and atomically smooth expanding mercury sphere electrode (dropping mercury electrode) is used as a probe. Its main advantage is: (i) an ease of varying surface charge and interfacial tension: (ii) the fluidity of the interface enhances adhesion of cells and is also typical of most marine interfaces (iii) allowed direct simultaneous detection of submicron particles collective response and individual attachment signals of larger reactive particles (micrometer size). The dropping mercury electrode offers a way to decouple complex physico-chemical interactions responsible for aggregation in the marine environment.

aggregation; submicron particles; organic microparticles; electrode interface

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