helium-ion-micrograph of a microalgae biofilm
helium-ion-micrograph of an E.coli infected by a Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus
helium-ion micrograph of an iron-oxidising bacterium on a sediment
helium-ion micrograph of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in a root-nodule
scanning transmission electron micrograph of T4 bacteriophages
Dr Matthias Schmidt
Contact / Addess:
Phone +49 (0) 341 6025 1358
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstrasse 15
04318 Leipzig
I am heading the high-resolution imaging team at
ProVIS
- Centre for Chemical Microscopy with responsibility for the scanning electron microscope, the helium-ion microscope and the confocal Raman microscope. I am physicist by training and, after having worked in semiconductor research for a few years, developed a passion for correlative microscopy and micro-analytics of (micro-)biological objects.
| Since June 2014 |
Head of the high-resolution imaging group at ProVIS - Centre for Chemical Microscopy Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry |
| 2013-2014 |
Post-Doctoral Fellow Max-Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics Halle (Saale), Germany |
| 2012-2013 |
Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Pretoria Department of Physics Pretoria, South Africa. |
| Jan 2012 |
Ph.D. in Physics Universität Leipzig Semiconductor Physics Group Leipzig, Germany |
| Aug - Dec 2011 |
Research Assistant Universität Leipzig Faculty of Physics and Geosciences Semiconductor Physics Group Leipzig, Germany |
| 2009 - 2011 |
Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst eV. Stipendiary |
|
2007 - 2012 |
Ph.D. project in semiconductor physics at Universität Leipzig Faculty of Physics and Geoscience Leipzig, Germany and Helmholtz-Centre Dresden-Rossendorf Dept. of Ion-Beam Physics Dresden, Germany |
| Dec 2006 |
Diploma in Physics Universität Leipzig Faculty of Physics and Geoscience Germany |
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (including transmission SEM, Back-Scattered Electron imaging, Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy)
- scanning Helium Ion Microscopy (imaging and nano-fabrication)
- Raman micro-spectroscopy (µ-Raman)
- optical profilometry
- preparation of microbial samples for SEM and HIM
- high-resolution imaging of (micro-)biological and environmental specimens with SEM and HIM
- micro-analytics of biological, geological and soil samples with SEM-BSE, SEM-EDX and µ-Raman
- correlative microscopy
- image-processing (including ImageJ programming, e.g. plug-in
Correlia
)
- development of helium-ion microscopy techniques for imaging and nano-fabrication of microbiological samples
- bacteriophages and bacterial predators
- microbial corrosion
- bioleaching and biomineralisation
- interactions between microbes plants and soil in the rhizosphere
- correlative microscopy: development of workflows and software tools
Publications
Index:
You could use our publication index for further requests.
2025 (2)
- Armanu, G.E., Bertoldi, S., Schmidt, M., Heipieper, H.J., Volf, I., Eberlein, C. (2025):
Hydrochar from agricultural waste as a biobased support matrix enhances bacterial degradation of diethyl phthalate
Molecules 30 (5), art. 1167 10.3390/molecules30051167 - Nasrabadi, A.M., Eckstein, D., Mettke, P., Ghanem, N., Kallies, R., Schmidt, M., Mothes, F., Schaefer, T., Graefe, R., Bandara, C.D., Maier, M., Liebert, U.G., Richnow, H., Hermann, H. (2025):
A virus aerosol chamber study: The impact of UVA, UVC, and H2O2 on airborne viral transmission
Environ. Health 10.1021/envhealth.4c00215
2024 (5)
- Foscari, A., Seiwert, B., Zahn, D., Schmidt, M., Reemtsma, T. (2024):
Leaching of tire particles and simultaneous biodegradation of leachables
Water Res. 253 , art. 121322 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121322 - Köhne, M., Hüsch, R., Tönissen, A., Schmidt, M., Müsken, M., Böttcher, D., Hirnet, J., Plötz, M., Kittler, S., Sieme, H. (2024):
Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages specific to Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus and evaluation of efficacy ex vivo
Front. Microbiol. 15 , art. 1448958 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1448958 - Peng, G., Schmidt, M., Faikhaw, O., Herzberg, M., Materić, D., Reemtsma, T. (2024):
Unraveling degradation mechanism of surgical masks leading to microplastics and nanoplastics release upon sunlight exposure
SSRN 10.2139/ssrn.4985584 - Rocha Vogel, A., Kolberg, Y., Schmidt, M., Kahlert, H., von Tümpling, W. (2024):
Potential deterioration of chemical water quality due to trace metal adsorption onto tire and road wear particles -Environmentally representative experiments
Environ. Pollut. 359 , art. 124571 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124571 - Xiang, Q., Stryhanyuk, H., Schmidt, M., Kümmel, S., Richnow, H.H., Zhu, Y.-G., Cui, L., Musat, N. (2024):
Stable isotopes and nanoSIMS single-cell imaging reveals soil plastisphere colonizers able to assimilate sulfamethoxazole
Environ. Pollut. 355 , art. 124197 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124197
2023 (6)
- Bandara, C.D., Schmidt, M., Davoudpour, Y., Stryhanyuk, H., Richnow, H.H., Musat, N. (2023):
Corrigendum: Microbial identification, high-resolution microscopy and spectrometry of the rhizosphere in its native spatial context
Front. Plant Sci. 13 , art. 1125001 10.3389/fpls.2022.1125001 - Bozan, M., Schmidt, M., Musat, N., Schmid, A., Adrian, L., Bühler, K. (2023):
Spatial organization and proteome of a dual-species cyanobacterial biofilm alter among N2-fixing and non-fixing conditions
mSystems 8 (3), art. 00302-23 10.1128/msystems.00302-23 - Davoudpour, Y., Kümmel, S., Musat, N., Richnow, H.H., Schmidt, M. (2023):
Tracking deuterium uptake in hydroponically grown maize roots using correlative helium ion microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy
Plant Methods 19 , art. 71 10.1186/s13007-023-01040-y - Grosch Schroeder, B., İstanbullu, H.B., Schmidt, M., Logroño, W., Harms, H., Nikolausz, M. (2023):
Effect of alkaline and mechanical pretreatment of wheat straw on methanogenic enrichment cultures from Pachnoda marginata larva gut
Fermentation 9 (1), art. 60 10.3390/fermentation9010060 - Höflich, K., Hobler, G., Allen, F.I., Wirtz, T., Rius, G., McElwee-White, L., Krasheninnikov, A.V., Schmidt, M., Utke, I., Klingner, N., Osenberg, M., Córdoba, R., Djurabekova, F., Manke, I., Moll, P.J.W., Manoccio, M., De Teresa, J.M., Bischoff, L., Michler, J., De Castro, O., Delobbe, A., Dunne, P., Dobrovolskiy, O.V., Frese, N., Gölzhäuser, A., Mazarov, P., Koelle, D., Möller, W., Pérez-Murano, F., Philipp, P., Vollnhals, F., Hlawacek, G. (2023):
Roadmap for focused ion beam technologies
Appl. Phys. Rev. 10 (4), art. 041311 10.1063/5.0162597 - Tamisier, M., Musat, F., Richnow, H.H., Vogt, C., Schmidt, M. (2023):
On the corrosion of ductile cast iron by sulphate reducing bacteria - implications for long-term nuclear waste repositories
Front. Geochem. 1 , art. 1244283 10.3389/fgeoc.2023.1244283
2022 (5)
- Kaniowska, D., Wenk, K., Rademacher, P., Weiss, R., Fabian, C., Schulz, I., Guthardt, M., Lange, F., Greiser, S., Schmidt, M., Braumann, U.-D., Emmrich, F., Koehl, U., Jaimes, Y. (2022):
Extracellular vesicles of mesenchymal stromal cells can be taken up by microglial cells and partially prevent the stimulation induced by β-amyloid
Stem Cell Rev. Rep. 18 (3), 1113 - 1126 10.1007/s12015-021-10261-4 - Scarabotti, F., Bühler, K., Schmidt, M., Harnisch, F. (2022):
Thickness and roughness of transparent gold-palladium anodes have no impact on growth kinetics and yield coefficients of early-stage Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms
Bioelectrochemistry 144 , art. 108043 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2021.108043 - Schmidt, M. (2022):
Hochaufgelöste Mikrobenporträts mit hoher Tiefenschärfe [High resolution microbe portraits with large depth-of-field]
Biospektrum 28 (4), 377 - 380 10.1007/s12268-022-1772-z - Tamisier, M., Schmidt, M., Vogt, C., Kümmel, S., Stryhanyuk, H., Musat, N., Richnow, H.-H., Musat, F. (2022):
Iron corrosion by methanogenic archaea characterized by stable isotope effects and crust mineralogy
Environ. Microbiol. 24 (2), 583 - 595 10.1111/1462-2920.15658 - You, X., Kallies, R., Kühn, I., Schmidt, M., Harms, H., Chatzinotas, A., Wick, L.Y. (2022):
Phage co-transport with hyphal-riding bacteria fuels bacterial invasion in a water-unsaturated microbial model system
ISME J. 16 (5), 1275 - 1283 10.1038/s41396-021-01155-x
2021 (6)
- Bandara, C.D., Schmidt, M., Davoudpour, Y., Stryhanyuk, H., Richnow, H.H., Musat, N. (2021):
Microbial identification, high-resolution microscopy and spectrometry of the rhizosphere in its native spatial context
Front. Plant Sci. 12 , art. 668929 10.3389/fpls.2021.668929 - Eziuzor, S.C., Schmidt, M., Vogt, C. (2021):
Anaerobic benzene mineralization by natural microbial communities from Niger Delta
Biodegradation 32 (1), 37 - 52 10.1007/s10532-020-09922-x - Imihami Mudiyanselage, C.C.D.B., Schmidt, M., Davoudpour, Y., Stryhanyuk, H., Richnow, H., Musat, N. (2021):
High-resolution chemical mapping and identifying spatial distribution of microbes in the Zea mays rhizosphere using correlative microscopy
EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021
EGUsphere
Copernicus Publications, EGU21-12160 10.5194/egusphere-egu21-12160 - Neubert, K., Schmidt, M., Harnisch, F. (2021):
Platinized titanium as alternative cost-effective anodes for the efficient Kolbe electrolysis in aqueous electrolyte solutions
ChemSusChem 14 (15), 3097 - 3109 10.1002/cssc.202100854 - Schmidt, M., Byrne, J.M., Maasilta, I.J. (2021):
Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review
Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 12 , 1 - 23 10.3762/bjnano.12.1 - Schmidt, M., Rohde, F., Braumann, U.-D. (2021):
Visualization and co-registration of correlative microscopy data with the ImageJ plug-in Correlia
In: Müller-Reichert, T., Verkade, P. (eds.)
Correlative light and electron microscopy IV
Methods Cell Biol. 162
Elsevier, p. 353 - 388 10.1016/bs.mcb.2020.10.001
2020 (5)
- Benettoni, P., Ye, J.-Y., Holbrook, T.R., Calabrese, F., Wagner, S., Zarejousheghani, M., Griebel, J., Ullrich, M.K., Musat, N., Schmidt, M., Flyunt, R., Reemtsma, T., Richnow, H.-H., Stryhanyuk, H. (2020):
Surface cleaning and sample carrier for complementary high-resolution imaging techniques
Biointerphases 15 (2), art. 021005 10.1116/1.5143203 - Davoudpour, Y., Schmidt, M., Calabrese, F., Richnow, H.H., Musat, N. (2020):
High resolution microscopy to evaluate the efficiency of surface sterilization of Zea Mays seeds
PLOS One 15 (11), e0242247 10.1371/journal.pone.0242247 - Decelle, J., Veronesi, G., Gallet, B., Stryhanyuk, H., Benettoni, P., Schmidt, M., Tucoulou, R., Passarelli, M., Bohic, S., Clode, P., Musat, N. (2020):
Subcellular chemical imaging: New avenues in cell biology
Trends Cell Biol. 30 (3), 173 - 188 10.1016/j.tcb.2019.12.007 - Hund-Rinke, K., Sinram, T., Schlich, K., Nickel, C., Dickehut, H.P., Schmidt, M., Kühnel, D. (2020):
Attachment efficiency of nanomaterials to algae as an important criterion for ecotoxicity and grouping
Nanomaterials 10 (6), art. 1021 10.3390/nano10061021 - Rohde, F., Braumann, U.-D., Schmidt, M. (2020):
Correlia: an ImageJ plug‐in to co‐register and visualise multi‐modal correlative micrographs
J. Microsc. 280 (1), 3 - 11 10.1111/jmi.12928
2019 (6)
- Benettoni, P., Stryhanyuk, H., Wagner, S., Kollmer, F., Moreno Osorio, J.H., Schmidt, M., Reemtsma, T., Richnow, H.-H. (2019):
Identification of nanoparticles and their localization in algal biofilm by 3D-imaging secondary ion mass spectrometry
J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 34 (6), 1098 - 1108 10.1039/c8ja00439k - Chen, S.-C., Musat, N., Lechtenfeld, O.J., Paschke, H., Schmidt, M., Said, N., Popp, D., Calabrese, F., Stryhanyuk, H., Jaekel, U., Zhu, Y.-G., Joye, S.B., Richnow, H.-H., Widdel, F., Musat, F. (2019):
Anaerobic oxidation of ethane by archaea from a marine hydrocarbon seep
Nature 568 (7750), 108 - 111 10.1038/s41586-019-1063-0 - Decelle, J., Stryhanyuk, H., Gallet, B., Veronesi, G., Schmidt, M., Balzano, S., Marro, S., Uwizeye, C., Jouneau, P.-H., Lupette, J., Jouhet, J., Maillot-Maréchal, E., Schwab, Y., Schieber, N.L., Tucoulou, R., Richnow, H., Finazzi, G., Musat, N. (2019):
Algal remodeling in a ubiquitous planktonic photosymbiosis
Curr. Biol. 29 (6), 968 - 978.e4 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.073 - Kallies, R., Kiesel, B., Schmidt, M., Ghanem, N., Zopfi, J., Hackermüller, J., Harms, H., Wick, L.Y., Chatzinotas, A. (2019):
Complete genome sequence of Pseudoalteromonas virus vB_PspP-H6/1 that infects Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain H6
Mar. Genom. 47 , art. 100667 10.1016/j.margen.2019.03.002 - Moreno Osorio, J.H., Benettoni, P., Schmidt, M., Stryhanyuk, H., Schmitt-Jansen, M., Pinto, G., Pollio, A., Frunzo, L., Lens, P.N.L., Richnow, H.H., Esposito, G., Musat, N. (2019):
Investigation of architecture development and phosphate distribution in Chlorella biofilm by complementary microscopy techniques
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 95 (4), fiz029 10.1093/femsec/fiz029 - Said, N., Chatzinotas, A., Schmidt, M. (2019):
Have an ion on it: the life-cycle of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus viewed by helium-ion microscopy
Adv. Biosyst. 3 (1), art. 1800250 10.1002/adbi.201800250
2018 (7)
- Bader, M., Müller, K., Foerstendorf, H., Schmidt, M., Simmons, K., Swanson, J.S., Reed, D.T., Stumpf, T., Cherkouk, A. (2018):
Comparative analysis of uranium bioassociation with halophilic bacteria and archaea
PLOS One 13 (1), e0190953 10.1371/journal.pone.0190953 - Bader, M., Rossberg, A., Steudtner, R., Drobot, B., Großmann, K., Schmidt, M., Musat, N., Stumpf, T., Ikeda-Ohno, A., Cherkouk, A. (2018):
Impact of Haloarchaea on speciation of uranium—A multispectroscopic approach
Environ. Sci. Technol. 52 (12), 12895 - 12904 10.1021/acs.est.8b02667 - Byrne, J.M., Schmidt, M., Gauger, T., Bryce, C., Kappler, A. (2018):
Imaging organic-mineral aggregates formed by Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria using helium ion microscopy
Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 5 (4), 209 - 213 10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00077 - Pickenhain, R., Schmidt, M., von Wenckstern, H., Benndorf, G., Pöppl, A., Böttcher, R., Grundmann, M. (2018):
Negative‐U properties of the deep level E3 in ZnO
Phys. Status Solidi B-Basic Solid State Phys. 255 (7), art. 1700670 10.1002/pssb.201700670 - Renpenning, J., Horst, A., Schmidt, M., Gehre, M. (2018):
Online isotope analysis of 37Cl/35Cl universally applied for semi-volatile organic compounds using GC-MC-ICPMS
J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 33 (2), 314 - 321 10.1039/c7ja00404d - Sharma, A., Schmidt, M., Kiesel, B., Mahato, N.K., Cralle, L., Singh, Y., Richnow, H.H., Gilbert, J.A., Arnold, W., Lal, R. (2018):
Bacterial and archaeal viruses of Himalayan hot springs at Manikaran modulate host genomes
Front. Microbiol. 9 , art. 3095 10.3389/fmicb.2018.03095 - Zarejousheghani, M., Schrader, S., Möder, M., Schmidt, M., Borsdorf, H. (2018):
A new strategy for accelerated extraction of target compounds using molecularly imprinted polymer particles embedded in a paper-based disk
J. Mol. Recognit. 31 (3), e2629 10.1002/jmr.2629
2017 (3)
- Bader, M., Müller, K., Foerstendorf, H., Drobot, B., Schmidt, M., Musat, N., Swanson, J.S., Reed, D.T., Stumpf, T., Cherkouk, A. (2017):
Multistage bioassociation of uranium onto an extremely halophilic archaeon revealed by a unique combination of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques
J. Hazard. Mater. 327 , 225 - 232 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.12.053 - Böhme, S., Baccaro, M., Schmidt, M., Potthoff, A., Stärk, H.-J., Reemtsma, T., Kühnel, D. (2017):
Metal uptake and distribution in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo: differences between nanoparticles and metal ions
Environ. Sci.-Nano 4 (5), 1005 - 1015 10.1039/c6en00440g - Kallies, R., Kiesel, B., Schmidt, M., Kacza, J., Ghanem, N., Narr, A., Zopfi, J., Wick, L.Y., Hackermüller, J., Harms, H., Chatzinotas, A. (2017):
Complete genome sequence of Pseudoalteromonas phage vB_PspS-H40/1 (formerly H40/1) that infects Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain H40 and is used as biological tracer in hydrological transport studies
Stand. Genomic Sci. 12 , art. 20 10.1186/s40793-017-0235-5
2015 (1)
- Schkolnik, G., Schmidt, M., Mazza, M.G., Harnisch, F., Musat, N. (2015):
In situ analysis of a silver nanoparticle-precipitating Shewanella biofilm by surface enhanced confocal Raman microscopy
PLOS One 10 (12), e0145871 10.1371/journal.pone.0145871
Publications before joining UFZ
- M. Schmidt, P.J. Janse van Rensburg, W.E. Meyer and F.D. Auret,
Observation of low-temperature annealing of a primary defect in gallium nitride,
Physica B 439 64 (2014)
DOI: 10.1016/j.physb.2013.11.008 - M. Schmidt, H. de Meyer, P.J. Janse van Rensburg, W.E. Meyer and F.D. Auret,
Introduction and annealing of primary defects in proton-bombarded n-GaN,
Phys. Status Solidi B 251, 211 (2014)
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201349191 - W. Mtangi, M. Schmidt, F.D. Auret, W.E. Meyer, P.J. Janse van Rensburg, M. Diale, J.M. Nel, A.G.M. Das, F.C.C. Ling and A. Chawanda,
A study of the T2 defect and the emission properties of the E3 deep level in annealed melt grown ZnO single crystals,
J. Appl. Phys. 113, 124502 (2013)
DOI: 10.1063/1.4796139 - M. Schmidt, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain and M. Grundmann,
On the investigation of electronic defect states in ZnO thin films by space charge spectroscopy with optical excitation
Solid-State Electron. 75, 48 (2012)
DOI: 10.1016/j.sse.2012.04.043 - M. Schmidt, M. Ellguth, R. Karsthof, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain, M. Grundmann, G. Brauer, and F.C.C. Ling,
On the T2 trap in zinc oxide thin films,
Phys. Status Solidi B 249, 588 (2012)
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201147271 - M. Schmidt, K. Brachwitz, F. Schmidt, M. Ellguth, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain, M. Grundmann, G. Brauer, and W. Skorupa,
Nickel-related defects in ZnO – A deep-level transient spectroscopy and photo-capacitance study,
Phys. Status Solidi B 248, 1949 (2011)
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201046634 - Z. Zhang, H. v. Wenckstern, M. Schmidt, and M. Grundmann,
Wavelength selective metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors based on (Mg,Zn)O-heterostructures,
Appl. Phys. Lett. 99 083502 (2011)
DOI: 10.1063/1.3628338 - A. Lajn, M. Schmidt, H. v. Wenckstern,and M. Grundmann,
Transparent rectifying contacts for visible-blind ultraviolet photo diodes based on ZnO,
J. Electr. Mat. 40, 473 (2011)
DOI: 10.1007/s11664-010-1395-x - M. Ellguth, M. Schmidt, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain, and M. Grundmann,
Characterization of point defects in ZnO thin films by optical deep level transient spectroscopy,
Phys. Status Solidi B 248, 941 (2011)
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201046244 - H. v. Wenckstern, K. Brachwitz, M. Schmidt, C.P. Dietrich, M. Ellguth, M. Stölzel, M. Lorenz and M. Grundmann,
The E3 defect in MgZnO,
J. Electr. Mat. 39, 584 (2010)
DOI: 10.1007/s11664-009-0967-0 - J. Chai, R.J. Mendelsberg, R.J. Reeves, J. Kennedy, H. v. Wenckstern, M. Schmidt, M. Grundmann, K. Doyle, T.H. Myers, and S.M. Durbin,
Identification of a Deep Acceptor Level in ZnO due to Silver Doping,
J. Electr. Mat. 39, 577 (2010)
DOI: 10.1007/s11664-009-1025-7 - M. Schmidt, M. Ellguth, F. Schmidt, T. Lüder, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain, M. Grundmann, G. Brauer, and W. Skorupa,
Defects in a nitrogen-implanted ZnO thin film,
Phys. Status Solidi B 247, 1220 (2010)
DOI: 10.1002/pssb.200945534 - M. Schmidt, M. Ellguth, C. Czekalla, H. v. Wenckstern, R. Pickenhain, M. Grundmann, G. Brauer, W. Skorupa, M. Helm, Q. Gu, and F.C.C. Ling,
Defects in zinc-implanted ZnO thin films,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B 27 1597, (2009)
DOI: 10.1116/1.3086659 - M. Schmidt, R. Pickenhain, and M. Grundmann,
Exact solutions for the capacitance of space charge regions at semiconductor interfaces,
Solid-State Electron. 51, 1002 (2007)
DOI: 10.1016/j.sse.2007.04.004
Theses
Ph.D thesis (Universität Leipzig, 2012):
Space-Charge Spectroscopy applied to Defect Studies in Ion-Implanted Zinc Oxide Thin Films
Diploma thesis (Universität Leipzig, 2006):
Theoretische Untersuchungen zu Raumladungszonen an Halbleitergrenzflächen
(Theoretical Investigations of Space-Charge Regions at Semiconductor Interfaces)