Microbiological methods

• Cultivation, isolation of microorganisms on selective nutrient media

   

• Specific cultivation systems of indigenous bacterial populations from natural clay raw materials

Molecular biological analysis of bacterial populations

• Extraction of specific microbial DNA from clay raw materials, minerals and surface materials

   

• DNA-Fingerprint analysis of 16S-rDNA (PCR-DGGE)

   

• Realtime-PCR (Taqman-PCR)

   

• Sequence analysis of specific gens and identification of microorganisms

   

Imaging methods

• AFM, atomic-force microscopy

   

• BioAFM, simultanous detection of surface structure and fluorescence microscopy

   

• Fluorescence-in-situ-hybridisation (FISH)

   

• ESEM (environmental-scanning-electron-microscopy )

Metabolic activities

• Enzyme activities: Detection of enzymatic metabolic activities in microbial populations by chromogenic and fluorogenic substrates

Mineralogic analysis

• STA

   

• XRD

   

• CEC