We also decided to choose them because they were already available in CU Boulder’s inventory. We had the option to order pretty much anything, but that could take time and we wanted to have as much time as we could to gather data.
We don’t necessarily think trans-chalcone or another chalcone would be better. It’s just that chalcones are a broad class of compounds and we didn’t think scientists should dismiss all of them just because of disappointing results from nitrochalcone.
My favorite part was making our graphs and helping my group design our poster.
The most complex part was trying to come up with an explanation for each of our results that didn’t meet our expectations. Why was there so much bacterial growth with high doses of trans-chalcone (it wasn’t bacterial growth, it was clumps of the compound itself being detected)? Why did our first negative control fail (pure DMSO is toxic to the bacteria)? Why did the presence or absence of nitrochalcone have a statistically significant effect, but the dose used did not seem to matter (we don’t really know, but this is not an indicator that it would make a good antibiotic)?
Was there another reason you studied these compounds besides their known antibacterial effects?
We also decided to choose them because they were already available in CU Boulder’s inventory. We had the option to order pretty much anything, but that could take time and we wanted to have as much time as we could to gather data.
Why do you think that other chalcone might be better than what you studied?
We don’t necessarily think trans-chalcone or another chalcone would be better. It’s just that chalcones are a broad class of compounds and we didn’t think scientists should dismiss all of them just because of disappointing results from nitrochalcone.
What was your favorite part in this lab procedure and which part did you find to be the most complex in completing?
My favorite part was making our graphs and helping my group design our poster.
The most complex part was trying to come up with an explanation for each of our results that didn’t meet our expectations. Why was there so much bacterial growth with high doses of trans-chalcone (it wasn’t bacterial growth, it was clumps of the compound itself being detected)? Why did our first negative control fail (pure DMSO is toxic to the bacteria)? Why did the presence or absence of nitrochalcone have a statistically significant effect, but the dose used did not seem to matter (we don’t really know, but this is not an indicator that it would make a good antibiotic)?
You killed it!! So proud 🙂
Thanks Maddy!