What is it about?
Biofilms are slimy layers of bacteria that stick to surfaces like glass, metal, or even your teeth. They can cause problems such as food poisoning, infections, or corrosion. Scientists often want to see exactly how biofilms grow and what they look like in three dimensions, but no single microscope can show everything. In this study, we combined two powerful tools — one that shows detailed surface shapes and another that shows the location of bacteria — to look at the same spot on a biofilm at the nanoscale. This gave us a clearer picture of its structure and how it might behave, helping us understand how to control or remove biofilms more effectively.
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Photo by Bilal O. on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Biofilms are everywhere — from medical devices and food factories to ships and pipelines — and they are hard to remove once formed. By clearly seeing their 3D structure at the nanoscale, we can design better ways to prevent or break them down. This could mean safer food, fewer infections, and less damage to industrial equipment.
Perspectives
This study shows that combining different imaging methods can reveal aspects of biofilm structure that would be invisible otherwise. For me, the value is not just in the images themselves, but in what they allow us to do next: connect structure with function, and eventually with control. If we can reliably map how biofilms arrange themselves and how their internal layers behave, we can begin to design surfaces that resist their growth or make them easier to remove. The goal is not simply to observe, but to translate these observations into practical tools — whether for cleaner medical devices, safer food production lines, or corrosion-resistant materials. I believe this integrative approach, linking detailed science to real-world needs, will become increasingly important as biofilm problems grow in scale and complexity.
Professor of The University of Osaka, &President of BEL Inc. Hideyuki Kanematsu
Osaka University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Three-Dimensional Structure of Biofilm Formed on Glass Surfaces Revealed Using Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy Combined with Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy, Microorganisms, July 2025, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms13081779.
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