Technology development and application for studying metabolism of extracellular and intracellular pathogens under real-time controlled culture conditions

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For the study of adapted metabolism of pathogens, it is essential to take and treat samples under rep-resentative physiological conditions. The goal of this project in the first period has been thus to de-velop an automated rapid sampling unit (RSU) and its integration into a real-time controlled culture system for pathogens. This goal has been achieved. Beyond the macroscopic RSU origi-nally planned we have further worked on a microfluidic sample processing system (μSP) to over-come some of the limitations of the macroscopic RSU. In the second period of our project, as a fur-ther technological development we plan to integrate a microfluidic separation unit for rapid separa-tion of pathogens from disrupted host cells. For this purpose, passive methods studied in the first pe-riod will be optimized and a new active method of immunomagnetic separation of pathogens will be employed. The new systems will be used for processing samples and profiling metabolism of different host/pathogen systems and as a technology platform for partners in the priority program. The scien-tific goals of the project are specified in two concretely planned collaboration projects with partners of the priority program. Specifically, the metabolic peculiarities and adaptation of Streptococ-cus pneumoniae and the “small colony variants” of Staphylococcus aureus under conditions of oxidative stress and iron limitation will be characterized and compared in the context of host-pathogen interaction during infection.