Molecular Imaging of Microbially Induced Corrosion of Synthetic Archeological Glasses by a Rhizosphere Bacterium

Gabriel D. Parker; Andrew Plymale; Anton Ievlev; Zihua Zhu; Jacqueline Hager; Luke Hanley; Xiao Ying Yu

doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.5c01183

Molecular Imaging of Microbially Induced Corrosion of Synthetic Archeological Glasses by a Rhizosphere Bacterium

Gabriel D. Parker
, Andrew Plymale
, Anton Ievlev
, Zihua Zhu
, Jacqueline Hager
, Luke Hanley
, Xiao Ying Yu

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) focuses on the degradation of solid materials, such as glass or metal. Soil microbes are often associated with the corrosion of foreign objects in the rhizosphere. Paenibacillus polymyxa SCE2, a facultative anaerobic bacterium in soil, is of the same genus as bacteria found near nuclear waste disposal sites. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used for imaging surface changes induced by P. polymyxa SCE2 cultured on two synthetic glass coupons to represent natural analogs of materials that were studied in relation to the vitrification of nuclear waste. Multimodal imaging was used to verify bacterial coverage across the glass surface after long-term growth. ToF-SIMS spectral analysis showed detection of glass component ions, such as silicon oxide (m/z^- 59.96 SiO₂^-) and aluminum oxide (m/z^- 101.95 Al₂O₃^-), and biofilm’s extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) components, such as pentadecanoic acid (m/z^- 241.22 C₁₅H₂₉O₂^-) and sterol lipids (m/z^- 311.16 C₂₀H₂₃O₃^-). ToF-SIMS spectral, imaging, and depth profiling analyses showed that the glass rich in silica and other light elements (“granite glass”) had more “corrosion related” peaks than the glass that was less silica-rich and contained more iron (“dike glass”). These surface and interface compositional and spatial differences observed in the mass spectra and imaging were attributed to bacterial metabolism and an electron transfer mechanism influenced by morphological and compositional differences between the two types of glasses. ToF-SIMS is effective in studying microbial effects, bringing new molecular insights into MIC in a broader context of materials degradation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	13872-13880
Number of pages	9
Journal	Analytical Chemistry
Volume	97
Issue number	26
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5c01183
State	Published - Jul 8 2025

Funding

Gabriel Parker was funded by the Department of Energy SCGSR fellowship program and the GRO internship program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Dr. Xiao-Ying Yu is indebted to the support of the strategic Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project of the Physical Sciences Directorate of ORNL. The authors acknowledge Albert Kruger and the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project at the United States Department of Energy (US DOE) Hanford Field Office for supporting the following activities at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL): synthesis and alteration of the glass materials (Jose Marcial); ToF-SIMS surface spectra collection (Jeffery Dhas); glass alteration project context (James Neeway and Carolyn Pearce); and sample cleaning (Jiyoung Son). We also thank Will Chrisler for obtaining CLSM images and Drs. Haluk Beyenal for sharing bacterial strains. A portion of the research was performed using EMSL (grid.436923.9), a DOE Office of Science User Facility sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research under the general EMSL user proposals 60770 and 61024. Depth profiling was supported by the DOE Office of Science User Facility of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences under the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences proposal (CNMS2023-A-01883) at ORNL. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the DOE under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 for the US DOE.

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title = "Molecular Imaging of Microbially Induced Corrosion of Synthetic Archeological Glasses by a Rhizosphere Bacterium",

abstract = "Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) focuses on the degradation of solid materials, such as glass or metal. Soil microbes are often associated with the corrosion of foreign objects in the rhizosphere. Paenibacillus polymyxa SCE2, a facultative anaerobic bacterium in soil, is of the same genus as bacteria found near nuclear waste disposal sites. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used for imaging surface changes induced by P. polymyxa SCE2 cultured on two synthetic glass coupons to represent natural analogs of materials that were studied in relation to the vitrification of nuclear waste. Multimodal imaging was used to verify bacterial coverage across the glass surface after long-term growth. ToF-SIMS spectral analysis showed detection of glass component ions, such as silicon oxide (m/z- 59.96 SiO2-) and aluminum oxide (m/z- 101.95 Al2O3-), and biofilm{\textquoteright}s extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) components, such as pentadecanoic acid (m/z- 241.22 C15H29O2-) and sterol lipids (m/z- 311.16 C20H23O3-). ToF-SIMS spectral, imaging, and depth profiling analyses showed that the glass rich in silica and other light elements (“granite glass”) had more “corrosion related” peaks than the glass that was less silica-rich and contained more iron (“dike glass”). These surface and interface compositional and spatial differences observed in the mass spectra and imaging were attributed to bacterial metabolism and an electron transfer mechanism influenced by morphological and compositional differences between the two types of glasses. ToF-SIMS is effective in studying microbial effects, bringing new molecular insights into MIC in a broader context of materials degradation.",

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AU - Parker, Gabriel D.

AU - Plymale, Andrew

AU - Ievlev, Anton

AU - Zhu, Zihua

AU - Hager, Jacqueline

AU - Hanley, Luke

AU - Yu, Xiao Ying

PY - 2025/7/8

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AB - Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) focuses on the degradation of solid materials, such as glass or metal. Soil microbes are often associated with the corrosion of foreign objects in the rhizosphere. Paenibacillus polymyxa SCE2, a facultative anaerobic bacterium in soil, is of the same genus as bacteria found near nuclear waste disposal sites. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used for imaging surface changes induced by P. polymyxa SCE2 cultured on two synthetic glass coupons to represent natural analogs of materials that were studied in relation to the vitrification of nuclear waste. Multimodal imaging was used to verify bacterial coverage across the glass surface after long-term growth. ToF-SIMS spectral analysis showed detection of glass component ions, such as silicon oxide (m/z- 59.96 SiO2-) and aluminum oxide (m/z- 101.95 Al2O3-), and biofilm’s extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) components, such as pentadecanoic acid (m/z- 241.22 C15H29O2-) and sterol lipids (m/z- 311.16 C20H23O3-). ToF-SIMS spectral, imaging, and depth profiling analyses showed that the glass rich in silica and other light elements (“granite glass”) had more “corrosion related” peaks than the glass that was less silica-rich and contained more iron (“dike glass”). These surface and interface compositional and spatial differences observed in the mass spectra and imaging were attributed to bacterial metabolism and an electron transfer mechanism influenced by morphological and compositional differences between the two types of glasses. ToF-SIMS is effective in studying microbial effects, bringing new molecular insights into MIC in a broader context of materials degradation.

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JO - Analytical Chemistry

JF - Analytical Chemistry

IS - 26

ER -

Molecular Imaging of Microbially Induced Corrosion of Synthetic Archeological Glasses by a Rhizosphere Bacterium

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