Hi Hyelin, thanks for the question! We would probably start with two close derivatives of benzaldehyde, 2-(4-phenethoxybenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide and 2-(3-isopropoxybenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamid, because they have been shown to inhibit the growth of strains of antibiotic resistant Tuberculosis. Past that, we also are interested in testing bitter almond oils, which are mainly benzaldehyde with trace amounts of cyanide and other materials, the issue with this is that we were unable to find any viable solvent for it, so testing would be troublesome.
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for the question! I think the most important change that we could make would be to take a longer amount of time to find a solvent for the benzaldehyde that wouldn’t be so successful at killing bacteria itself.
Hi Katelin, thanks for the question! The two serovars that I discussed in my presentation are Salmonella Typhimurium, the testing model, and Salmonella Typhi, a strain that I mentioned in the introduction. S. Typhi is the strain that causes deadly typhoid fever in humans, whereas S. Typhimurium only causes food poisoning. These two serovars are very similar, with S. Typhimurium causing typhoid fever in mice, making it a great testing model. So, while the strain that we used could still cause illness, it wouldn’t be very harmful, and we took great caution to avoid any direct exposure with the Salmonella.
I was wondering if you wish to test other derivatives of benzaldehyde, what would be the selection process? Structural difference?
Hi Hyelin, thanks for the question! We would probably start with two close derivatives of benzaldehyde, 2-(4-phenethoxybenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide and 2-(3-isopropoxybenzylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamid, because they have been shown to inhibit the growth of strains of antibiotic resistant Tuberculosis. Past that, we also are interested in testing bitter almond oils, which are mainly benzaldehyde with trace amounts of cyanide and other materials, the issue with this is that we were unable to find any viable solvent for it, so testing would be troublesome.
What would you do differently if you were to redo this lab to get results that are useful to you?
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for the question! I think the most important change that we could make would be to take a longer amount of time to find a solvent for the benzaldehyde that wouldn’t be so successful at killing bacteria itself.
Why was salmonella used if it is dangerous to humans?
Hi Katelin, thanks for the question! The two serovars that I discussed in my presentation are Salmonella Typhimurium, the testing model, and Salmonella Typhi, a strain that I mentioned in the introduction. S. Typhi is the strain that causes deadly typhoid fever in humans, whereas S. Typhimurium only causes food poisoning. These two serovars are very similar, with S. Typhimurium causing typhoid fever in mice, making it a great testing model. So, while the strain that we used could still cause illness, it wouldn’t be very harmful, and we took great caution to avoid any direct exposure with the Salmonella.