S-STEM Scholar Jessica Sabel's Blog

Introduction:    This semester I have been working on determining the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) in  D. aquaticus . It has been determined that out of the antibiotics tested, kanamycin is the best choice to use for this bacterium. The goal is to determine the exact concentration of antibiotic added so it inhibits growth without killing all of the cells.    This is significant when performing transformation; transformed cells should contain an antibiotic resistance gene so that when the sample is plated, only transformed cells will be able to grow. If the concentration of antibiotic is too high, it could prevent cells from growing. If the concentration of antibiotic is too low, non-transformed cells would be able to grow and we would not be able to tell the difference between transformed and non-transformed cells. Based on the MIC results from the previous week shown in figure 2, we determined that concentrations of 1.5 ug/ml and 1.75 ug/ml are potent...

  Introduction:  This week we attempted to move forward with our MIC test. In the previous week our results showed contamination, so we reflected on our technique and came up with ways to prevent it from happening again. The same antibiotic concentrations are being tested, however, mixing in the wells will be avoided this time because we believe it altered the results.    Methods:    Gram staining was done by lab partner Anh on 10/31 on our  D. aquaticus  samples in liquid media from 8/16/22 and 9/03/22. OD600 values were also taken on these two samples prior to starting the MIC procedure.   Before running the experiment, the UV light was turned on in the hood for 15 minutes. The blower was also turned on and the glass was lifted slightly.  All equipment, gloves, and surfaces under the hood were wiped down using Kim wipes with alcohol.   A sterile 96-well plate was used. 6 reps of different concentrations were done, with 3 runs...