In vitro laser ablation of natural marine biofilms

We studied the efficiency of pulsed low-power laser irradiation of 532 nm from an Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser to remove marine biofilm developed on titanium and glass coupons. Natural biofilms with thicknesses of 79.4 +/- 27.8 microm (titanium) and 107.4 +/- 28.5 microm (glass) were completely disrupted by 30 s of laser irradiation (fluence, 0.1 J/cm2). Laser irradiation significantly reduced the number of diatoms and bacteria in the biofilm (paired t test; P < 0.05). The removal was better on titanium than on glass coupons.