Dental caries, the most common oral disease, is a multifactorial disease caused by interactions among bacteria within the dental plaque, food, and saliva, resulting in tooth destruction. Streptococcus mutans has been strongly implicated as the causative organism in dental caries and is frequently isolated from human dental plaque. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a technique that involves the activation of photosensitizer by light in the presence of tissue oxygen, resulting in the production of reactive radicals capable of inducing cell death. Postantibiotic effect (PAE) is defined as the duration of suppressed bacterial growth following brief exposure to an antibiotic. In this study, the in vitro PAE of PDT using erythrosine and light emitting diode on S. mutans ATCC 25175 was investigated. The PAE of PDT for 1 s irradiation and 3 s irradiation were 1.65 h and 2.1 h, respectively. The present study thus confirmed PAE of PDT using erythrosine on S. mutans.

Although microalgae are considered as a promising feedstock for biofuels, cost-efficient harvesting of microalgae needs to be significantly improved. In this study, the use of electro coagulation as a more rapid flocculation method for harvesting a freshwater (Scenedesmus dimorphus) microalgae species was evaluated. The results showed that, electro coagulation was shown to be more efficient using an aluminum anode than using an iron anode. And optimum conditions of electro coagulation for harvesting Scenedesmus dimorphus were found. The optimum stirring speed was 100 rpm and optimum pH was 5. Furthermore, the current density which the fastest and highest recovery efficiency is achieved at 30 A/m2, while the highest energy efficiency was achieved at 10 A/m2. A the rapid and high recovery efficiency indicate that electro coagulation is a particularly attractive technology for harvesting microalgae.

Microalgae is known as one alternative energy source of the fossil fuel with the small size of 5 ~ 50 µm and negative charge. Currently, the cost of microalgae recovery process take a large part, about 20 - 30% of total operating cost. Thus, the microalgae recovery method with low cost is needed. In this study, the optimum current for Scenedesmus dimorphus recovery process using electrocoagulation techniques was investigated. Under the electrical current, Al metal in anode electrode is oxidized to oxidation state of Al3+. In the cathode electrode, the water electrolysis generated OH- which combine with Al3+ to produce Al(OH)3. This hydroxide acts as a coagulant to harvest microalgae.Before applying in 1.5 L capacity electrocoagulation reactor, Scenedesmus dimorphus was cultured in 20 L cylindrical reactor to concentration of 1 OD.The microalgae recovery efficiency of electrocoagulation reactor was evaluated under different current conditions from 0.1 ~ 0.3 A. The results show that, the fastest and highest recovery efficiency were achieved at the current or 0.3 A, which the highest energy efficiency was achieved at 0.15 A.