PNNL

Abstract

Bacterial film (biofilm) microbes exist within spatial (nutrient, electron-acceptor, pH, etc.) gradients of their own making. Correspondingly, biofilm bacteria are physiologically and functionally distinct from free-floating bacteria and from their own species at differing biofilm depths. This article describes our efforts to develop noninvasive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technologies for biofilm-metabolism studies. This involves integrating NMR with controlled-cultivation methods to interrogate microbial physiology live and under known growth conditions. NMR is uniquely capable of providing depth-resolved metabolic and transport information in a non-invasive, non-sample-consuming fashion, providing information required for experimental reactive transport studies. We have studied mono-species biofilms relevant to environment remediation and human health. We describe these technologies, discuss their advantages and limitations, and give examples of their application.