Thank you for this question! For this experiment, we considered the 96 well plate as being innocuous or non-reactive to the compounds and agents used. This was the purpose of both our negative and positive control, as they were also used in the plates. Our negative control defined our upper and lower bounds (both two standard deviations from the mean), and our positive control fell within the expected range, meaning that there was no statistically important interference from the plate.
I loved the way you used your cursor throughout your presentation, it really helped me follow along! Could you elaborate on your mention of more controlled environments and explain more about your source of error in the over-dilution? Thanks!
Thank you, I’m glad that was helpful! To be clear, we are not really sure of where our source of error came from, as we followed all protocols, including when diluting. However, as we obtained conflicting results, we can only assume that there was a variable that failed to remain constant throughout the various experiments, one of which could have been the dilution. Perhaps we over/under diluted our compound, used a contaminated plate, or failed to store our compound sufficiently and tested a deteriorated compound.
Yes, that may very well be the case, my team was definitely limited by the amount of compounds we could test. However, if you take a look at our poster, you will see that the Mampong Herbal Enterica itself was not shown to have antibiotic properties. On the contrary, it provided results consistent with bacterial growth. Given this is the case, it is also possible that the medicine in of itself is not an antibiotic, but it boosts mechanisms in human cells that may aid in fighting against bacterial infections. This is also why we listed a future step as testing “in vitro” or inside a cell, as this will provide more information on the effects of the drug, as it is still possible that this drug has no effects at all and is a simple placebo.
How do you think the natural sugars of the plate would affect antibiotic properties?
Thank you for this question! For this experiment, we considered the 96 well plate as being innocuous or non-reactive to the compounds and agents used. This was the purpose of both our negative and positive control, as they were also used in the plates. Our negative control defined our upper and lower bounds (both two standard deviations from the mean), and our positive control fell within the expected range, meaning that there was no statistically important interference from the plate.
I loved the way you used your cursor throughout your presentation, it really helped me follow along! Could you elaborate on your mention of more controlled environments and explain more about your source of error in the over-dilution? Thanks!
Thank you, I’m glad that was helpful! To be clear, we are not really sure of where our source of error came from, as we followed all protocols, including when diluting. However, as we obtained conflicting results, we can only assume that there was a variable that failed to remain constant throughout the various experiments, one of which could have been the dilution. Perhaps we over/under diluted our compound, used a contaminated plate, or failed to store our compound sufficiently and tested a deteriorated compound.
Do you think other compounds in Mampong Herbal Enterica may contribute to its antibiotic effects?
Yes, that may very well be the case, my team was definitely limited by the amount of compounds we could test. However, if you take a look at our poster, you will see that the Mampong Herbal Enterica itself was not shown to have antibiotic properties. On the contrary, it provided results consistent with bacterial growth. Given this is the case, it is also possible that the medicine in of itself is not an antibiotic, but it boosts mechanisms in human cells that may aid in fighting against bacterial infections. This is also why we listed a future step as testing “in vitro” or inside a cell, as this will provide more information on the effects of the drug, as it is still possible that this drug has no effects at all and is a simple placebo.
Great presentation, great inspiration for the compound choice. Good job!
Thank you, that means a lot!