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Microsensors are an important tool in an ever-growing diversity of research fields. Because microsensors need precise positioning down to ca. 10 µm spatial resolution, microprofiling setups became the standard choice for many microsensor applications. Such setups have been successfully applied in:

  • biogeochemistry (e.g. marine and freshwater sediments)
  • biofilms (e.g. marine phototrophic biofilms)
  • microbial mats (e.g. hypersaline cyanobacterial mats)
  • microbial communities in extreme environments (hot springs)
  • insect physiology (e.g. termite gut physiology)
  • plant physiology (e.g. oxygen transport in eelgrass roots)

PyroScience offers microprofiling setups for varying scientific demands. Basic setups are manually operated consisting of e.g. Heavy Stand HS1, Micromanipulator MM33, and the FireSting. The advanced setups are controlled by the microprofiling software Profix running on a Windows PC, which operates a motorized micromanipulator (e.g. MU1 with motorized z-axis, MUX2 with motorized z- and x-axis) and reads in data from up to two microsensor modules. Such systems allow complex automized microprofiling applications (e.g. microprofiling at defined time intervals, or automatic transects). Other advanced features are: automatic µM calculation for oxygen microsensors, interactive flux calculations on measured profiles, input file generation for the microprofile analysis program PROFILE from Peter Berg.

 

 

Possible Setup Configurations

The simplest and most economic setup is based on the manual micromanipulator MM33, which is generally sufficiant for measuring a few microprofiles by moving a micrometer screw stepwise manually. If you need to measure many microprofiles, you should consider the automized setups based on the motorized micromanipulators MU1 or MUX2 in combination with the control software Profix for Windows 7/8/10.

 

Brochures

Applicable Oxygen Sensor Types

 

Related Peer-Reviewed Publications

Modeling the radiative, thermal and chemical microenvironment of 3D scanned corals
Murthy, S., Picioreanu, C., & Kuhl, M. (2023). Frontiers in Marine Science, Section Coral Reef Research.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1160208

Bionic 3D printed corals
Wangpraseurt et al. 2020, Nature Communications
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15486-4

Microenvironmental changes support evidence of photosynthesis and calcification inhibition in Halimeda under ocean acidification and warming
Sinutok et al. 2012, Coral Reefs
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0952-6 

Light gradients and optical microniches in coral tissues
Wangpraseurt et al. 2012, Frontiers in Microbiology
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00316

Oxygen-dependent niche formation of a pyrite-dependent acidophilic consortium built by archaea and bacteria
Ziegler et al., 2013, The ISME Journal
https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.64

Compartmentalized microbial composition, oxygen gradients and nitrogen fixation in the gut of Odontotaenius disjunctus
Ceja-Navarro et al., 2014, ISME Journal
https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.134

Radiative energy budget reveals high photosynthetic efficiency in symbiont-bearing corals
Brodersen et al., 2014, Journal of the Royal Society Interface
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2013.0997

Microbial Iron Oxidation in the Arctic Tundra and Its Implications for Biogeochemical Cycling
Emerson et al., 2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology
http://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02832-15

Evidence for water-mediated mechanisms in coral–algal interactions
Jorissen et al., 2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B
http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1137

Regulation of Intertidal Microphytobenthos Photosynthesis Over a Diel Emersion Period Is Strongly Affected by Diatom Migration Patterns
Cartaxana et al., 2016, Frontiers in Microbiology
http://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00872

Photosynthetic Acclimation of Symbiodinium in hospite Depends on Vertical Position in the Tissue of the Scleractinian Coral Montastrea curta
Lichtenberg et al. 2016, Frontiers in Microbiology
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00230

Heat generation and light scattering of green fluorescent protein-like pigments in coral tissue
Lyndby et al. 2016, Scientific Reports
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26599

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Aggregate Formation in an Alginate Bead Model System Exhibits In Vivo-Like Characteristics
Sønderholm et al., 2017, Applied and Environmental Microbiology
https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00113-17

Spring and Late Summer Phytoplankton Biomass Impact on the Coastal Sediment Microbial Community Structure
Broman et al. 2019, Microbial Ecology
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1229-6

Behavioural patterns of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria: implications for benthic oxygen and nitrogen dynamics
Camillini et al. 2019, Marine Ecology Progress Series
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13004

Correlation of bio-optical properties with photosynthetic pigment and microorganism distribution in microbial mats from Hamelin Pool, Australia
Fisher et al. 2019, FEMS Microbiology Ecology
https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy219

Bio-optical properties and radiative energy budgets in fed and unfed scleractinian corals (Pocillopora sp.) during thermal bleaching
Lyndby et al. 2019, Marine Ecology Progress Series
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13146

Soil biofilm formation enhances microbial community diversity and metabolic activity
Wu et al. 2019, Environment International
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105116

Behaviour of chromium and chromium isotopes during estuarine mixing in the Beaulieu Estuary, UK
Goring-Harford et al. 2020, Earth and Planetary Science Letters
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116166

Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers
Kiesel et al. 2020, Frontiers in Marine Science
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00426

Vertical Migration Optimizes Photosynthetic Efficiency of Motile Cyanobacteria in a Coastal Microbial Mat
Lichtenberg et al. 2020, Frontiers in Marine Science
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00359

Fluorinated Chitosan Microgels to Overcome Internal Oxygen Transport Deficiencies in Microtissue Culture Systems
Patil et al. 2020, Advanced BioSystems
https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.201900250

Bionic 3D printed corals
Wangpraseurt et al. 2020, Nature Communications
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15486-4

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