Center for Biofilm Engineering

News Update: 

February, 2006

Volume 9, Issue 2

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Research Highlights

CBE Team Designs and Tests Microbial Fuel Cells
 

See the full story at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2006/microbial_fuel_cells_COENews.htm

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Slimy Bacteria Leads to List of Discoveries

Scientists from Montana State University who make it their business to study slime have six new inventions ranging from tapping slime to help hide extra carbon to stopping slime from growing on medical implants.

See the full story at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2006/Slimy_MSUNews.htm

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Major Research Instrumentation Grant
 

The MSU Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Laboratory, directed by Dr. Sarah Codd (Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering) and Dr. Joe Seymour (Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering), has received a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grant to purchase a state-of-the-art high spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging system to establish a Magnetic Resonance Microscopy User Facility. Magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) is high spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which uses different hardware than clinical scale MRI systems. The new equipment will complement an existing MRM system by accommodating larger sample sizes (up to 8 cm), expanding magnet access time, and in general allow the technique to be more broadly applied to research problems across campus as well as in the CBE. The larger sample space allows for industrial devices such as filters and membrane separators to be studied at the macroscopic scale. Geophysical applications using real rock and soil porous matrices will also be possible with the larger sample space. Using the existing MRM system, microscale analysis of the material components (i.e. the filtration media and membrane) can be accomplished at higher spatial and dynamic resolution in the smaller sample space.

We are especially excited about this new equipment because it will expand our capabilities to characterize biofilms and their impacts. Multiscale transport in biofilms can be studied over a hierarchy of length and time scales using MRM. With the new MRM equipment studies will easily range from microscale molecular level transport dynamics within the EPS matrix of individual biofilms, to mesoscale flow of bulk fluids around biofilm colonies, and to macroscopic device or system scale.

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Recent CBE Publications

"Arginine or Nitrate Enhances Antibiotic Susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Biofilms"
Borriello, G., L. Richards, G.D. Ehrlich, and P.S. Stewart
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., 50(1):382-384 (2006)

"Biofilm-Related Infections of Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts"
Fux, C.A., M. Quigley, A.M. Worel, C. Post, S. Zimmerli, G. Ehrlich, and R.H. Veeh
Clin. Microbiol. Infect., in press (2006)

"Effect of Substrate Concentration on Dual-Species Biofilm Population Densities of Klebsiella oxytoca and Burkholderia cepacia in Porous Media"
Komlos, J., A.B. Cunningham, A.K. Camper, and R.R. Sharp
Biotechnol. Bioeng., 93(3):434-442 (2006)

To read paper abstracts or to order paper copies see:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Database/PD_DisplayScript.asp

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CBE Employment Opportunities

The CBE has two positions open and applications are welcome!

Assistant/Associate Professor of Microbiology
Biofilm Microbiology
See the full position description at: http://www.montana.edu/cgi-bin/msuinfo/fpview?ctype=f&csn=6223-2

Post Doctoral Research Associate
See the full position description at: http://www.montana.edu/cgi-bin/msuinfo/fpview?ctype=p&csn=6242-3

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CBE People in Action

Anne Camper as an invited speaker presented “Biofilms in Drinking Water Systems: Engineering Applications”, University of Michigan seminar series, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Department, Ann Arbor, MI, January 12, 2006.

Anne Camper as an invited speaker presented “Health Implications of Biofilms in Drinking Water Systems,” University of Michigan, Environmental Health Sciences Department, Ann Arbor, MI, January 13, 2006.

Anne Camper as an invited speaker presented “Chloramines, Chlorine, Distribution System Materials and Regrowth, Inorganic Contaminants Annual Workshop, American Water Works Association, Austin, TX, January 31, 2006.

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Biofilm Education Resources

Upcoming CBE Workshops

“Biofilm Methods Workshop,” organized by the CBE
Montana State University, February 1, 2006. See the 2006 agenda at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/wAgenda06.pdf

For more information about the Biofilm Methods Workshops, go to: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Workshops/
 

“Biofilms Summer School,” organized by the CBE's Biofilm Structure-Function Research Group, includes the following three workshops listed below.
Bookmark this site: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/default.htm
July 24 – August 4, 2006
Details:  http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/SUMMER%20SCHOOL%20-%20BIOFILMS.pdf

Biofilm Structure Quantification and Image Analysis
July 24 – 25, 2006
Details:  http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/Biofilm Structure Quantification and Image Analysis.pdf

Fundamentals of Biofilm Research
July 26 – 28, 2006
Details: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/Fundamentals of biofilm research.pdf

Microsensors – Manufacture and Applications
July 31 – August 4, 2006
Details: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/Microsensors workshop.pdf

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Web Watch

BiofilmsOnline.com

See the BiofilmsOnline.com February issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.

Subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter by registering at: http://www.biofilmsonline.com/cgi-bin/biofilmsonline/newsletter_signup.html

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Newsletter Listserve

The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from the listserve, follow the directions at the following CBE website.

http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/subscribe.htm

An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm.

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