Thousand small microlabs

Microfluidics Group / Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz-Institute for Natural-Product-Research and Infection-Biology – Hans Knöll Institute

In microfluidics, a microscopic high-throughput method, not only efficiency but also sustainability plays a role. This is because the method allows millions of microorganisms to be examined simultaneously, thus saving resources. Instead of test tubes, individual microorganisms are grown in 100-picoliter drops (0, 000 000 1 milliliter) and examined under the microscope. PhD student Martina Graf uses this method to find effective antibiotics against the multi-resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (e.g., MRSA). To do this, she adds a bacterium to each drop, as well as one of many different antibiotics, which are made recognizable by color coding. If the bacterium in a drop dies, it signals that the antibiotic it contains can effectively kill the pathogen.

© Martina Graf, Karin Martin, Ashkan Samimi & Sundar Hengoju

Thousand small microlabs

Microfluidics Group / Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz-Institute for Natural-Product-Research and Infection-Biology – Hans Knöll Institute

In microfluidics, a microscopic high-throughput method, not only efficiency but also sustainability plays a role. This is because the method allows millions of microorganisms to be examined simultaneously, thus saving resources. Instead of test tubes, individual microorganisms are grown in 100-picoliter drops (0, 000 000 1 milliliter) and examined under the microscope. PhD student Martina Graf uses this method to find effective antibiotics against the multi-resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (e.g., MRSA). To do this, she adds a bacterium to each drop, as well as one of many different antibiotics, which are made recognizable by color coding. If the bacterium in a drop dies, it signals that the antibiotic it contains can effectively kill the pathogen.

© Martina Graf, Karin Martin, Ashkan Samimi & Sundar Hengoju