Label-Free In-Situ Biofilm Analysis (LIBA) System

The DOE is interested in new instrumentation that can be used to reveal the function roles in biofilms with depth and to identify non-cellular biofilm constituents. Current instrumentation techniques are often destructive and/or prohibitively expensive, and no instruments are capable of real-time in situ biofilm characterization. This project will develop a new technology for the in situ real-time characterization of the functional and compositional properties of a biofilm with depth, as it develops and matures in time. The approach is based on the integration of a novel, label-free optical detection method that uses established spectroscopic techniques. In Phase I a laboratory prototype of the portable biofilm analyzing system will be designed, fabricated, tested, and benchmarked against current analytical tools, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee The label-free platform, with its compact fiber-optic coupling, would enable the study and control of biofilms in their native environment, including underground and underwater environments. A better understanding of biofilms would aid in the engineering of enhanced soil remediation and biological carbon sequestration. In addition, a better understanding of antibiotic resistant biofilms would allow the pharmaceutical industry to develop compounds for the control or mitigation of bacterial infections