# ToF-SIMS spectral data analysis of Paenibacillus sp. 300A biofilms and planktonic cells

## TL;DR

This paper provides ToF-SIMS spectral data for Paenibacillus sp. 300A biofilms and planktonic cells, identifying key biological molecules for biofilm research.

## Contribution

The study offers novel ToF-SIMS spectral reference data for Paenibacillus sp. 300A biofilms and planktonic cells.

## Key findings

- ToF-SIMS identified biological molecules relevant to extracellular polymeric substances in 300A biofilms.
- The dataset includes lipids, fatty acids, flavonoids, and quinolones detected with high mass accuracy.
- Spectral data from 300A can aid in future biofilm surface and interface research.

## Abstract

•Offered ToF-SIMS spectral analysis results of Paenibacillus sp. 300A.•Studied both planktonic cells and biofilms of 300A in ToF-SIMS.•Identified biological molecules relevant to extracellular polymeric substance.•Provide spectral reference data of 300A for biofilm research using SIMS.

Offered ToF-SIMS spectral analysis results of Paenibacillus sp. 300A.

Studied both planktonic cells and biofilms of 300A in ToF-SIMS.

Identified biological molecules relevant to extracellular polymeric substance.

Provide spectral reference data of 300A for biofilm research using SIMS.

Analysis of bacterial biofilms is particularly challenging and important with diverse applications from systems biology to biotechnology. Among the variety of techniques that have been applied, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has many promising features in studying the surface characteristics of biofilms. ToF-SIMS offers high spatial resolution and high mass accuracy, which permit surface sensitive analysis of biofilm components. Thus, ToF-SIMS provides a powerful solution to addressing the challenge of bacterial biofilm analysis. This dataset covers ToF-SIMS analysis of Paenibacillus sp. 300A (300A) isolated from the Hanford site in Richland, WA. The strain is known to have metal and sulfur reducing properties and can be used for bioremediation, wastewater treatment, bioengineering and technology development. There is a current need to identify small molecules and fragments produced from bacterial biofilms. Static ToF-SIMS spectra of 300A were obtained using an IONTOF TOF-SIMS V instrument equipped with a 25 keV Bi3+ metal ion gun. Identified molecules and molecular fragments are compared against known biological databases and the reported peaks have at least 65 ppm mass accuracy. These molecules range from lipids and fatty acids to flavonoids, quinolones, and other naturally occurring organic compounds. It is anticipated that the spectral identification of key peaks will assist detection of metabolites, extracellular polymeric substance molecules like polysaccharides, and biologically relevant small molecules using ToF-SIMS in future surface and interface research of bacterial biofilms.

Image, graphical abstract