What do you believe would have changed if a bacteria other than salmonella was used? Was the potential antibiotic chosen because previous studies indicating it had the potential to kill salmonella only?
Although the potential antibiotic, RSV, was chosen mainly due to previous studies highlighting its effectiveness as an antioxidant with antimicrobial properties, it was also selected due to its availability as a food supplement for the general public. If a bacteria other than Salmonella was used, several aspects of the experiment would change or none at all. For example, Ampicillin (the positive control) does not act as an antibiotic for all bacteria, highlighting the need to change the positive and negative controls and associate them with the chosen bacteria. The newly selected bacteria could be a gram-positive strain(Salmonella is gram-negative); however, a study states how RSV works with gram-positive bacteria, highlighting RSV as a possible antibiotic. If RSV is used with the new bacteria, the methods will stay the same (maybe with some tweaks); however, if a new compound is chosen, the methods will need to be rewritten and redone based on the selected compound to fit its requirements.
How can the use of powdered compounds increase solubility and reduce the potential for errors, and what other compounds similar to RSV could be explored for potential antibiotics with lower investment in research and development?
Powdered compounds would be easier to dissolve to make the stock solution more accurately. RSV was highly viscous, making it very difficult to take out of the capsules and measure out exactly 1.142 g. Additionally, it could not simply be pipetted or poured in. To overcome its high viscosity (and to keep the measurements accurate), RSV was directly weighed into the test tube being used to make the stock solution. Manuka honey is a highly tested compound that has shown great promise as an antibiotic in previous studies. It is similar to RSV in the sense that they are both derived from nature. Furthermore, it has lower investment in research and development due to its common availability and accessibility (can be bought at Safeway).
Wow, this is great science – Neil deGrasse Tyson levels! Since resveratrol has color to it, were you concerned that it may affect the measured absorbency?
Thank you! And yes, RSV is a deep red color which, on its own, would significantly affect the measured absorbency. Although this was an initial concern, it was noticed after its dilution to develop the stock solution RSV’s initial deep red color was nowhere to be seen as the stock solution was transparent. After discussion with our TAs, we determined that since the stock solution was clear (as were the dilutions further made from said solution), there would be little to no effect on the measured absorbency.
Great job, you were clear and concise on your poster! Definitely a interesting experiment!
Thank you!
What do you believe would have changed if a bacteria other than salmonella was used? Was the potential antibiotic chosen because previous studies indicating it had the potential to kill salmonella only?
Although the potential antibiotic, RSV, was chosen mainly due to previous studies highlighting its effectiveness as an antioxidant with antimicrobial properties, it was also selected due to its availability as a food supplement for the general public. If a bacteria other than Salmonella was used, several aspects of the experiment would change or none at all. For example, Ampicillin (the positive control) does not act as an antibiotic for all bacteria, highlighting the need to change the positive and negative controls and associate them with the chosen bacteria. The newly selected bacteria could be a gram-positive strain(Salmonella is gram-negative); however, a study states how RSV works with gram-positive bacteria, highlighting RSV as a possible antibiotic. If RSV is used with the new bacteria, the methods will stay the same (maybe with some tweaks); however, if a new compound is chosen, the methods will need to be rewritten and redone based on the selected compound to fit its requirements.
How can the use of powdered compounds increase solubility and reduce the potential for errors, and what other compounds similar to RSV could be explored for potential antibiotics with lower investment in research and development?
Powdered compounds would be easier to dissolve to make the stock solution more accurately. RSV was highly viscous, making it very difficult to take out of the capsules and measure out exactly 1.142 g. Additionally, it could not simply be pipetted or poured in. To overcome its high viscosity (and to keep the measurements accurate), RSV was directly weighed into the test tube being used to make the stock solution. Manuka honey is a highly tested compound that has shown great promise as an antibiotic in previous studies. It is similar to RSV in the sense that they are both derived from nature. Furthermore, it has lower investment in research and development due to its common availability and accessibility (can be bought at Safeway).
Wow, this is great science – Neil deGrasse Tyson levels! Since resveratrol has color to it, were you concerned that it may affect the measured absorbency?
Thank you! And yes, RSV is a deep red color which, on its own, would significantly affect the measured absorbency. Although this was an initial concern, it was noticed after its dilution to develop the stock solution RSV’s initial deep red color was nowhere to be seen as the stock solution was transparent. After discussion with our TAs, we determined that since the stock solution was clear (as were the dilutions further made from said solution), there would be little to no effect on the measured absorbency.