Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 11: Franco-German Session: Bacterial Biophysics I
BP 11.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 09:45–10:00, BAR/0106
Following bacterial biofilm formation with X-rays: From scanning gradients towards real-life studies. — •Matthias Schwartzkopf1, Joanne Neumann1, Edina Klein1,2, and Holger Sondermann1,2 — 1Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany — 2Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Notkestr. 85, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
Bacterial biofilm formation is a complex multi-step process yielding microbial communities encapsulated in an extracellular matrix of polymeric substances. Biofilms are a significant problem in treating bacterial infections and are one of the main reasons for the persistence of infections. Their increased resistance to classical antibiotics poses a severe threat to global health issues. Therefore, following and understanding the process of biofilm formation are essential for early detection and suppressing biofilm-associated infections. In this context, surface-sensitive X-ray scattering (GI-SAXS) is successfully applied to observe initial thin film growth morphologies and kinetics at various metal/organic interfaces [Schwartzkopf and Roth, Nanomaterials, 6, 239 (2016)]. In this contribution, we present the capabilities and first results of our combinatorial X-ray study on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms aiming to provide nanoscale insight into the structure and dynamics of growing biofilms.
Keywords: Surface-sensitive X-ray scattering; Bacterial biofilm formation; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; thin film growth morpholgy; combinatorial X-ray study