Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Chemical Engineering
Research Advisor
Westenberg, David
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract
Healthcare associated infections are significant concern in medicine and as antibiotics are becoming less effective, we need new alternative methods to treat them. We are testing various materials that can be used to prevent infections in healthcare settings and in wound treatments. These materials include bioactive glass and modified hydrogel materials. From these studies we've learned these are effective in killing bacteria and preventing infections. The goal of this project is to determine the mechanism at which these materials kill bacteria. Our approach is to construct biosensor strains that can indicate bacterial stress response to antimicrobial agents. We have used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify promoters from known bacterial stress response genes. These include recÁ, lasR, and grpE. We are cloning these promoters in front of a promoter less lacZ gene to serve as an indicator of bacterial stress in response to antibacterial materials.
Biography
Ryan is a senior in Biochemical Engineering with minors in business, chemistry, and biomedical engineering. She is also a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, Omega Chi Epsilon, American Institute for Chemical Engineers, and she works as a student paraprofessional for MST sports medicine. She had an internship for St. Louis County Enviromental Department.
Shelby is a senior in Biochemical engineering. She is a part of the Lambda Sigma Pi service organization and held many executive board positions. Shelby has had an internship at Brewer Science and enjoys being in the lab. She hopes to go into a career that is very hands on and in the medicinal field.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Presentation Date
10 April 2024, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Biosensors for Antibacterial Medical Applications
Innovation Forum - 1st Floor Innovation Lab
Healthcare associated infections are significant concern in medicine and as antibiotics are becoming less effective, we need new alternative methods to treat them. We are testing various materials that can be used to prevent infections in healthcare settings and in wound treatments. These materials include bioactive glass and modified hydrogel materials. From these studies we've learned these are effective in killing bacteria and preventing infections. The goal of this project is to determine the mechanism at which these materials kill bacteria. Our approach is to construct biosensor strains that can indicate bacterial stress response to antimicrobial agents. We have used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify promoters from known bacterial stress response genes. These include recÁ, lasR, and grpE. We are cloning these promoters in front of a promoter less lacZ gene to serve as an indicator of bacterial stress in response to antibacterial materials.
