OUR RESEARCH

Treatability studies

Microcosms established with materials collected from contaminated sites remain a powerful approach to assess if the resident microbiota has the capacity for contaminant degradation. Microcosm studies help to identify bottlenecks for in situ biodegradation and to assess if manipulations of the geochemical conditions can result in efficient degradation. The Löffler Lab has expertise applying this approach, which provides key information for developing productive site cleanup strategies. Treatability studies often generate biodegrading cultures of interest for follow-up studies, which are for discovering novel microorganisms of interest.