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Quantum Coherence in Mature Biofilms (QCM)
INFRA
Why does the green-black film on a long-neglected wall cling so stubbornly? Our research treats mature biofilms as remarkably efficient, energy-optimised living systems — not inert grime. This frontier work explains their resilience, and why genuinely removing established growth means breaking the colony down, not simply washing over it.
QCM is the frontier ATH research strand examining quantum-coherent energy transfer within mature architectural biofilms. It draws on established biophysics — the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) photosynthetic complex, in which excitonic energy migrates with near-unity efficiency via quantum coherence, modelled by the Lindblad master equation for open quantum systems — and asks how comparable coherence in the dense, pigment-rich EPS matrix of a Stage-3 biofilm may underpin its extreme resilience and 'energetic parasitism' of the host surface. Practically, QCM reframes a mature biofilm as an energetically optimised system rather than inert grime, reinforcing the doctrine that it must be lysed and de-cohered, not simply washed.
FMO, Lindblad equation
QCM is the frontier ATH research strand examining quantum-coherent energy transfer within mature architectural biofilms. It draws on established biophysics — the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) photosynthetic complex, in which excitonic energy migrates with near-unity efficiency via quantum coherence, modelled by the Lindblad master equation for open quantum systems — and asks how comparable coherence in the dense, pigment-rich EPS matrix of a Stage-3 biofilm may underpin its extreme resilience and 'energetic parasitism' of the host surface. Practically, QCM reframes a mature biofilm as an energetically optimised system rather than inert grime, reinforcing the doctrine that it must be lysed and de-cohered, not simply washed.
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