NCBS researchers develop transparent material that enables imaging of bacteria deep inside 3D spaces

Bengaluru Researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, have developed a transparent porous material that lets scientists image bacteria as they grow, swim, migrate as groups and get transported by flowing water deep inside three-dimensional spaces, even at the single-cell level. According to the researchers, this could help reveal how speed and direction of flow influence where bacteria attach and form biofilms, how different species colonise porous environments, and how microplastics settle in sand and sediment.

The material could also open new avenues of research in bioreactor design, the cleanup of contaminated soil and microbially enhanced oil recovery. The work, led by Nandhu Krishna Babu under the guidance of Tapomoy Bhattacharjee, has been published in Small Methods, a journal.

Difficult to study in natural settings Most bacteria in nature live in crowded, maze-like spaces, such as the gaps between soil grains, sediment particles and rock pores, where water and nutrients can move only through narrow channels.