Our main objective is to develop and test an automated microbial motility detection device with adjustable environmental conditions.

We investigate both the motility behavior of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes) under various conditions, as well as engineering strategies for automated tracking and microscopic detection of life during space missions.

A spin-off of that work is the ERC-funded Portable Device for Detecting Pathogens (PortPath) project.

PortPath can automatically detect pathogens in water resources and can be operated by laypersons and non-medical professionals.
 

Members: Max Riekeles, Vincent Bruder, Sherif Youssef, Berke Santos

Duration: Oct 2020 - Present
 

Contact person: Max Riekeles, riekeles@tu-berlin.de

Recent outcome:

Riekeles M, Albalkhi H, Dubay MM, Nadeau J and Lindensmith CA (2024) Motion history images: a new method for tracking microswimmers in 3D. Front. Imaging. 3:1393314. doi: 10.3389/fimag.2024.1393314

Riekeles, M, Schirmack, J, Airo, A, Schulze-Makuch, D. (2022) Optisches Gerät zur Bestimmung von Biopartikeln in einem fluiden Medium, insbesondere unter Verwendung eines tragbaren Geräts, insbesondere Smartphone. German Patent No. 10 2021 105 030.

M. Riekeles, J. Schirmack, D. Schulze-Makuch (2021). Machine Learning Algorithms Applied to Identify Microbial Species by Their Motility. Life 2021, 11, 44. doi:10.3390/life11010044