Extracellular polymeric substances or EPSs are biosynthetic polymers from prokaryotic (bacteria, archaea) and eukaryotic (algae, fungi) microorganisms, which either form (loose or tight) slimes around the microbial cells or are excreted as discrete gels to the surrounding environment. Typically, EPSs are heterogeneous mixtures of polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other polymeric compounds. The highly diverse chemical composition of EPS is a result of the different processes related to their production and their immediate environment: active microbial secretion, shedding of cell surface materials, cell lysis, and adsorption from the environment (Wingender et al.1999).
EPSs are often associated with the formation of biofilms and microbial aggregates. In biofilm systems, they are mainly responsible for binding cells and other particulate materials together and to the solid-liquid interface (Characklis and Wilderer 1989). In surface water sources, suspended EPSs are...
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Villacorte, L.O. (2016). Extracellular Polymeric Substance (EPS). In: Drioli, E., Giorno, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Membranes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44324-8_220
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