Research Focus:

Biofilms are microbial communities growing attached at the interphase of aqueous systems. They are well known for causing problems in the medical and technical area due to their persistence against antibiotics or other bactericides leading to severe infections or efficiency losses. Our aim is the utilization of such naturally immobilized microbes as biocatalysts in continuous flow-through reactor systems, by turning their “problematic” characteristics into a benefit for catalysis. To achieve this goal it is essential to follow an interdisciplinary approach combining engineering and natural sciences. It is equally important to address biological questions like biofilm growth behavior, structure and physiology, as well as technical questions like reactor configuration, mass transfer issues and scale up. Therefore the `Catalytic Biofilms’ group is a team of biologists, biochemists and engineers, working on various questions related to the applicability of bacterial biofilms for biocatalysis. For more information please refer to the different topics.

Prof. Dr. Katja Bühler

Katja Bühler

Groupleader, principal investigator

Tel.: +49-341-235 46 83

E-mail

Homepage

Johannes Lambrecht

Johannes Lambrecht

Scientist

Tel.: +49-341-235 4697

E-mail

Homepage

Hannah Berreth

Hannah Berreth

PhD candidate

Tel.: +49-341-235 482478

E-mail

Homepage

Selina Hanisch

Selina Hanisch

PhD candidate (with BioMat at uni Leipzig)

Tel.: +49-341-235 482731

E-mail

Homepage

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Sebastian Röther

Technician

Tel.: +49-341-235 46 96

E-mail

Homepage

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Ostrin Oswald D Souza

Master Student


E-mail

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Malabika Bera

HIWI in colaboration with BioMat at uni Leipzig


E-mail

Index:

You could use our publication index for further requests.

2024 (2)

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2023 (5)

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2022 (5)

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2021 (9)

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2020 (4)

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2019 (5)

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2018 (2)

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2017 (3)

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2016 (4)

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2015 (3)

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There are always projects available within our research themes (see below). These projects might be interesting for students with a background in biotechnology, biochemical engineering, molecular biology or related fields.

Feel free to check the individual research topics of individual team members for more specific impressions on possible projects.

We offer challenging projects, careful supervision, excellent infrastructure and team spirit. Please feel free to contact us and ask for further details!


Utilizing microorganisms for the production of value added compounds
In this research field we are engineering bacteria towards synthesis of interesting chemicals. Respective organisms may either grow autotrophic utilizing CO2 as carbon source or heterotrophic using organic compounds (like glucose) as carbon source. Two basic routes are followed: Either the compound of choice is directly utilized from the growth substrate (fermentation), or the organisms are supplied with an additional substrate, which is transformed to a specific product (biotransformation).


Designing biofilms for continuous bioprocesses
In this research field we are utilizing surface attached bacteria (biofilms) as biocatalysts for continuous bioprocesses. Research questions to address are related to the biofilm response towards external stimuli, and the resulting architectural plasticity of the biofilm community. Especially stimuli connected to technical production systems, e.g. hydrodynamic conditions, substrate and/or product toxicity, etc., are in the focus of our work.


Development of mixed-species biofilms in a microfluidic flow-cell environment

Phototrophic microbial mats are structured, mixed-species biofilms that generally occur in nature. By effective utilization of solar radiation, they are able to concert the activity of different associated microorganisms, while remaining stable under extreme environmental conditions.
In this context, we aim to understand the fundamental parameters needed to engineer such structured phototrophic microbial communities in biofilms. Here, different combinations of hetero- and phototrophic microbial species will be investigated to develop robust microbial consortia.
The proposed project will perform quantitative analysis of mixed-species biofilms in terms of surface coverage, stability, mass and energy fluxes in a microfluidic flow-cell system.

Studiengang Bioverfahrenstechnik

Vorlesung: Mikrobiologie für Verfahrenstechniker(innen) MW-VNT-51
Dozentin:   Prof. Katja Bühler

Wann:        SoSe wöchentlich Donnerstags, 09:20 - 10:50
Wo:           TU Dresden, ZINT Campus (Bergstrasse 120), ZIN/120/H


Diese Vorlesung baut auf der Veranstaltung "Allgemeine Mikrobiologie" auf. Sie behandelt im ersten Teil den Abbau organischer und anorganischer Verbindungen und gibt einen Überblick über die häufigsten Gärungstypen immer im Zusammenhang mit biotechnologischen Anwendungen. Im zweiten Teil geht darum zu verstehen, wie man von einer Idee zu einem gewünschten Produkt kommt. Es werden Grundlagen in bakterieller Genetik vermittelt und aktuelle Techniken der Gentechnik behandelt.

Vorlesungsskripte und Lehrmaterialien (OPAL)


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Vorlesung: Allgemeine Mikrobiologie MW-VNT-46
Dozentin:   Prof. Katja Bühler

Beginn:     WiSe wöchentlich freitags, 09:20 bis 10:50
Wo:           TU Dresden, ZINT Campus (Bergstrasse 120), ZIN/120/H

Inhalte der Vorlesung sind die Grundlagen der Mikrobiologie. Dies umfasst: Aufbau von Bakterien, Viren und Pilzen, Ernährungsweisen, Wachstum, zentraler Kohlenstoff- und Energiemetabolismus, Organisation der Zellfabrik, Transportprozesse und einen Überblick über die biotechnologischen Anwendungsgebiete von Mikroorganismen.


Vorlesungsskripte und Lehrmaterialien (OPAL)

Moritz Harter - finished his masters thesis with our group

Mahir Bozan - PhD candidate - now Postdoc at the UFZ

Amelie Kenkel - PhD candidate - now project manager HF GROUP

Valentina Schmitz - Master student - now PhD candidate with Bio-Mat

The Tale of the Biofilm Hotel

The biofilm hotel illustrates the functions and dependencies in our productive mixed species biofilms. The film depicts three very different bacteria. The Rhodopseudomonas are a very versatile group of purple bacteria that can utilize sugars and organic acids, as well as light. They produce our target product, the hydrogen gas. The phototrophic, “light using” Cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis and provide resources for the heterotrophic P. taiwanensis which are very good biofilm formers, as well as Rhodopseudomonas. Quelle: Andreas Szabo