TY - JOUR A1 - Leimena, W. A1 - Artmann, Gerhard A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Temiz Artmann, Aysegül A1 - Gossmann, Matthias A1 - Digel, Ilya T1 - Feasibility of an in-situ microbial decontamination of an ice-melting probe JF - Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal N2 - Autonomous robotic systems for penetrating thick ice shells with simultaneous collecting of scientific data are very promising devices in both terrestrial (glacier, climate research) and extra-terrestrial applications. Technical challenges in development of such systems are numerous and include 3D-navigation, an appropriate energy source, motion control, etc. Not less important is the problem of forward contamination of the pristine glacial environments with microorganisms and biomolecules from the surface of the probe. This study was devoted to establishing a laboratory model for microbial contamination of a newly constructed ice-melting probe called IceMole and to analyse the viability and amount of the contaminating microorganisms as a function of distance. The used bacterial strains were Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 11775). The main objective was development of an efficient and reliable in-situ decontamination method of the melting probe. Therefore, several chemical substances were tested in respect of their efficacy to eliminate bacteria on the surface of the melting probe at low temperature (0 - 5 °C) and at continuous dilution by melted water. Our study has shown that at least 99.9% decontamination of the IceMole can be successfully achieved by the injection of 30% (v/v) hydrogen peroxide and 3% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite into the drilling site. We were able to reproduce this result in both time-dependent and depth-dependent experiments. The sufficient amount of 30% (v/v) H₂O₂ or 3% (v/v) NaClO has been found to be approximately 18 L per cm² of the probe’s surface. Y1 - 2010 SN - 1562-3920 U6 - https://doi.org/10.18321/ectj37 VL - 12 IS - 2 SP - 145 EP - 150 PB - Institute of Combustion Problems CY - Almaty ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Wehlitz, V. A1 - Kayser, Peter A1 - Figiel-Lange, A. A1 - Bassam, Rasha A1 - Rundstedt, F. von T1 - Suspension depletion approach for exemption of infected Solanum jasminoides cells from pospiviroids JF - Plant Pathology N2 - Despite numerous studies, viroid elimination from infected plants remains a very challenging task. This study introduces for the first time a novel ‘suspension depletion’ approach for exemption of Solanum jasminoides plants from viroids. The proposed method implies initial establishment of suspension cultures of the infected plant cells. The suspended cells were then physically treated (mild thermotherapy, 33 °C), which presumably delayed the replication of the viroid. The viroid concentration in the treated biomass was monitored weekly using pospiviroid-specific PCR. After 10–12 weeks of continuous treatment, a sufficient decrease in viroid concentration was observed such that the infection became undetectable by PCR. The treated single cells then gave rise to microcolonies on a solid culture medium and the obtained viroid-negative clones were further promoted to regenerate into viroid-free plants. Three years of accumulated experimental data suggests feasibility, broad applicability, and good efficacy of the proposed approach. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.12750 SN - 1365-3059 VL - 67 IS - 2 SP - 358 EP - 365 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Mikucki, Jill A1 - Tulaczyk, Slawek A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Espe, Clemens A1 - Feldmann, Marco A1 - Francke, Gero A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Xu, Changsheng T1 - IceMole : A maneuverable probe for clean in situ analysis and sampling of subsurface ice and subglacial aquatic ecosystems JF - Annals of Glaciology N2 - There is significant interest in sampling subglacial environments for geobiological studies, but they are difficult to access. Existing ice-drilling technologies make it cumbersome to maintain microbiologically clean access for sample acquisition and environmental stewardship of potentially fragile subglacial aquatic ecosystems. The IceMole is a maneuverable subsurface ice probe for clean in situ analysis and sampling of glacial ice and subglacial materials. The design is based on the novel concept of combining melting and mechanical propulsion. It can change melting direction by differential heating of the melting head and optional side-wall heaters. The first two prototypes were successfully tested between 2010 and 2012 on glaciers in Switzerland and Iceland. They demonstrated downward, horizontal and upward melting, as well as curve driving and dirt layer penetration. A more advanced probe is currently under development as part of the Enceladus Explorer (EnEx) project. It offers systems for obstacle avoidance, target detection, and navigation in ice. For the EnEx-IceMole, we will pay particular attention to clean protocols for the sampling of subglacial materials for biogeochemical analysis. We plan to use this probe for clean access into a unique subglacial aquatic environment at Blood Falls, Antarctica, with return of a subglacial brine sample. KW - Antarctic Glaciology KW - Extraterrestrial Glaciology KW - Glaciological instruments and methods KW - Subclacial exploration KW - Subglacial lakes Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3189/2014AoG65A004 SN - 1727-5644 VL - 55 IS - 65 SP - 14 EP - 22 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mikucki, Jill Ann A1 - Schuler, C. G. A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Tuttle, M. J. A1 - Chua, Michelle A1 - Davis, R. A1 - Purcell, Alicia A1 - Ghosh, D. A1 - Francke, G. A1 - Feldmann, Marco A1 - Espe, C. A1 - Heinen, Dirk A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Clemens, Joachim A1 - Lyons, W. B. A1 - Tulaczyk, S. T1 - Field-Based planetary protection operations for melt probes: validation of clean access into the blood falls, antarctica, englacial ecosystem JF - Astrobiology N2 - Subglacial environments on Earth offer important analogs to Ocean World targets in our solar system. These unique microbial ecosystems remain understudied due to the challenges of access through thick glacial ice (tens to hundreds of meters). Additionally, sub-ice collections must be conducted in a clean manner to ensure sample integrity for downstream microbiological and geochemical analyses. We describe the field-based cleaning of a melt probe that was used to collect brine samples from within a glacier conduit at Blood Falls, Antarctica, for geomicrobiological studies. We used a thermoelectric melting probe called the IceMole that was designed to be minimally invasive in that the logistical requirements in support of drilling operations were small and the probe could be cleaned, even in a remote field setting, so as to minimize potential contamination. In our study, the exterior bioburden on the IceMole was reduced to levels measured in most clean rooms, and below that of the ice surrounding our sampling target. Potential microbial contaminants were identified during the cleaning process; however, very few were detected in the final englacial sample collected with the IceMole and were present in extremely low abundances (∼0.063% of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences). This cleaning protocol can help minimize contamination when working in remote field locations, support microbiological sampling of terrestrial subglacial environments using melting probes, and help inform planetary protection challenges for Ocean World analog mission concepts. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2021.0102 SN - 1557-8070 (online) SN - 153-1074 (print) VL - 23 IS - 11 SP - 1165 EP - 1178 PB - Liebert CY - New York, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kowalski, Julia A1 - Linder, Peter A1 - Zierke, Simon A1 - von Wulfen, Benedikt A1 - Clemens, Joachim A1 - Konstantinidis, Konstantinos A1 - Ameres, Gerald A1 - Hoffmann, Ruth A1 - Mikucki, Jill A. A1 - Tulaczyk, Slawek M. A1 - Funke, Oliver A1 - Blandfort, Daniel A1 - Espe, Clemens A1 - Feldmann, Marco A1 - Francke, Gero A1 - Hiecker, S. A1 - Plescher, Engelbert A1 - Schöngarth, Sarah A1 - Dachwald, Bernd A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Artmann, Gerhard A1 - Eliseev, Dmitry A1 - Heinen, Dirk A1 - Scholz, Franziska A1 - Wiebusch, Christopher H. A1 - Macht, Sabine A1 - Bestmann, Ulf A1 - Reineking, Thomas A1 - Zetzsche, Christoph A1 - Schill, Kerstin A1 - Förstner, Roger A1 - Niedermeier, Herbert A1 - Szumski, Arkadiusz A1 - Eissfeller, Bernd A1 - Naumann, Uwe A1 - Helbing, Klaus T1 - Navigation technology for exploration of glacier ice with maneuverable melting probes JF - Cold Regions Science and Technology N2 - The Saturnian moon Enceladus with its extensive water bodies underneath a thick ice sheet cover is a potential candidate for extraterrestrial life. Direct exploration of such extraterrestrial aquatic ecosystems requires advanced access and sampling technologies with a high level of autonomy. A new technological approach has been developed as part of the collaborative research project Enceladus Explorer (EnEx). The concept is based upon a minimally invasive melting probe called the IceMole. The force-regulated, heater-controlled IceMole is able to travel along a curved trajectory as well as upwards. Hence, it allows maneuvers which may be necessary for obstacle avoidance or target selection. Maneuverability, however, necessitates a sophisticated on-board navigation system capable of autonomous operations. The development of such a navigational system has been the focal part of the EnEx project. The original IceMole has been further developed to include relative positioning based on in-ice attitude determination, acoustic positioning, ultrasonic obstacle and target detection integrated through a high-level sensor fusion. This paper describes the EnEx technology and discusses implications for an actual extraterrestrial mission concept. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.006 SN - 0165-232X IS - 123 SP - 53 EP - 70 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mansurov, Zulkhair A. A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Biisenbaev, M. A1 - Savistkaya, I. A1 - Kistaubaeva, Aida A1 - Akimbekov, Nuraly S. A1 - Zhubanova, Azhar Achmet T1 - Bio-composite material on the basis of carbonized rice husk in biomedicine and environmental applications JF - Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.18321/ectj105 SN - 2522-4867 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 115 EP - 131 PB - Institute of Combustion Problems CY - Almaty ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Akimbekov, Nuraly A1 - Digel, Ilya A1 - Zhubanova, Azhar A1 - Tastambek, Kuanysh T. A1 - Tepecik, Atakan A1 - Sherelkhan, Dinara T1 - Biotechnological potentials of surfactants in coal utilization: a review JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research N2 - The quest for scientifically advanced and sustainable solutions is driven by growing environmental and economic issues associated with coal mining, processing, and utilization. Consequently, within the coal industry, there is a growing recognition of the potential of microbial applications in fostering innovative technologies. Microbial-based coal solubilization, coal beneficiation, and coal dust suppression are green alternatives to traditional thermochemical and leaching technologies and better meet the need for ecologically sound and economically viable choices. Surfactant-mediated approaches have emerged as powerful tools for modeling, simulation, and optimization of coal-microbial systems and continue to gain prominence in clean coal fuel production, particularly in microbiological co-processing, conversion, and beneficiation. Surfactants (surface-active agents) are amphiphilic compounds that can reduce surface tension and enhance the solubility of hydrophobic molecules. A wide range of surfactant properties can be achieved by either directly influencing microbial growth factors, stimulants, and substrates or indirectly serving as frothers, collectors, and modifiers in the processing and utilization of coal. This review highlights the significant biotechnological potential of surfactants by providing a thorough overview of their involvement in coal biodegradation, bioprocessing, and biobeneficiation, acknowledging their importance as crucial steps in coal consumption. KW - Coal KW - Surfactants KW - Microorganisms KW - Biosolubilization KW - Biobeneficiation Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34892-5 SN - 1614-7499 VL - 31 SP - 55099 EP - 55118 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER -