Disrupting the biofilm

The crystal violet assay is great to quantify biofilm formation quickly in a high-throughput way for single- and multiple-strain biofilms. Nevertheless, we want to look at the strain composition in each biofilm in a high. For this, we need to disrupt the biofilm back into suspended cells so that we can quantify their relative amounts through fluorescence.

Biofilm disruption solution

 * 1% SDS Sodium dodecyl sulfate (denaturates protein)
 * 5 mM EDTA
 * 100 mM NaCl
 * 50 mM Tris, pH 7.4, how to prepare

Protocol

 * Grow biofilm in 96-well plate.
 * Extract liquid (measure OD if necessary) and wash twice.
 * Fill with 150 μm disruption solution.
 * Shake for 30 mins.
 * Measure OD.
 * Measure fluorescences.