Evaluation of antifouling activity of eight commercially available organic chemicals against the early foulers marine bacteria and Ulva spores.

Environmental impacts caused by tin and copper based commercial antifouling (AF) paints were proved to be detrimental to aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, a search of environmental friendly AF compounds to be used in marine paint to protect the surface of maritime developmental structures from the unwanted biofouling is a burning issue of the present time. Commercially available eight organic chemicals--allyl isothiocyanate, beta-myrecene, cis-3-hexenyl acetate, citral, ethyl heptanoate, eugenol, methyl caproate, and octyl alcohol were evaluated forAF activities using both laboratory and field assays. The test chemicals were found to repel the target motile marine bacteria--Alteromonas marina, Bacillus atrophaeus, Roseobactergallaeciensis and Shewanella oneidensis and motile spores of the green alga, Ulva pertusa. The bacterial and Ulva spore repulsion activities of the test chemicals were measured by chemotaxis and agar diffusion methods respectively interestingly these test chemicals were less toxic to the test fouling species. The toxicity of the test chemicals was measured by using antibiotic assay disks against the bacteria and motility test against Ulva spores. Moreover, in field assay, all test chemicals showed a perfect performance ofAF activity showing no fouling during the experimental period of one year Such results and commercial as well as technical feasibility of the test chemicals firmly showed the possibility of using as alternatives of the existing toxic AF agents.

Effects of copper (I) oxide on growth and biochemical compositions of two marine microalgae.

In copper based antifouling (AF) paints Cu (I) oxide was largely used as booster biocide. In this study effect of Cu (I) oxide on two marine microalgae, Tetraselmis suecica and Dunaliella tertiolecta was demonstrated. EC50 (96 hr) concentrations estimated for T. suecica and D. tertiolecta were 1.3 mg l(-1) and 1.34 mg l(-1), respectively. Copper (I) oxide induced changes in growth, chlorophyll, carbohydrate and protein contents were observed in T. suecica and D. tertiolecta. At low concentration of 0.0625 mg l(-1), 3-26% and 1-16% growth stimulation was observed in T. suecica and T. tertiolecta respectively. Increasing Cu (I) oxide concentrations proportionately decreased the carbohydrate and protein contents. This study clearly indicates the toxicity of excessive Cu (I) oxide on growth and biochemical compositions of T. suecica and D. tertiolecta.