Microbial Control and Applications
Added on 2020-05-08
11 Pages2486 Words322 Views
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Physical and Chemical Agents for the Control of Microbial Growth NameLab SectionDate of StudyNames of Lab Partners
Abstract The report illustrates the concepts of microbial growth control using various physical and chemical methods. Different terminologies relating to microbial controls have been defined toenhance the understanding of the lab report findings. A total of four experiments have been done on microbial growth inhibition and they include the Kirby-Bauer test, Bleaching test, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination and the lethal effects of temperature on the microbial activities. The Carpenter-Cleland (2017) BIOL 2P98 Principles of Microbiology 2017FW Lab Manual was used to conduct the four practical. The Kirby-Bauer results has shown that B. Sabtilis were reported to be susceptible to ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, polymyxin B and slightly susceptible to colistin. The organisms are insusceptible to moxalactam and penicillin. E. coli species on the other hand are insusceptibleto moxalactam, vancomycin and penicillin and sensitive to ciprofloxacin, polymyxin B and the colistin. The study has indicated that B. Subtilis require the lowest concentration of antimicrobial to inhibit growth as compared to E. coli. The growth of B. subtilis can occure up to 100 degrees Celsius however, its growth at 100 degrees Celsius is dramatically slowed. E. coli species can only grow up to 60 degrees Celsius. The study outcome has also shown that E. coli species has been shown to be more susceptible to bleaching agent as compared to B. Subtilis species.
IntroductionThe control of microbial growth is an essential procedure to prevent the transmission of infections and diseases caused by the microbial agents. The microbial growth control is essential as it stops the decomposition and spoilage of foods and other consumable products and also preventing the unwanted microbial contaminations. The control of the microbial growth can be achieved through the use of chemical agents and physical agents. The physical agents and processes that can be used to control the microbial growth include osmotic pressure, filtrations, use of either too high or too low temperatures, radiations or desiccation (Carpenter-Cleland, 2017). The chemical methods commonly used to control the microbial growth include use of antiseptics, disinfectants and chemotherapeutic antimicrobial chemicals. The scientists and the healthcare professionals’ uses specific terminologies to precisely refer to microbial control environment hence the need to be familiar with such terms in order to fully understand and learn microbial growth control concepts (Kilbey, 2015). Some of these terms are defined and discussed below.1.Antibiotic refers to a microbial derivative with the ability to kill susceptible microorganisms on inhibit their growth and proliferation in specific environment (Slonczewski, Foster, & Gillen, 2014).2.Antimicrobial agents refer to any chemical compound that can kill or inhibit the growth of the microorganisms. The agents may vary in terms of selective toxicity and they can either be natural or chemically synthesized (Kilbey, 2015). 3.Antisepsis is the reduction in the number of microbes with potential pathogenesis on living cells while antiseptic refers to the procedure or environment free of pathogenic contaminants such as bacteria, virus or fungus (Kirchman, 2011). 4.Disinfection refers to elimination or reduction of the pathogenic microorganism in or on a material surface so as to make it safe. Disinfection process can be achieved
through the use of antiseptic which is used externally on animal tissues, disinfectant that is used on inanimate objects and not animal tissues and the sanitizer that is used on food preparation equipments (Reis, Paula, Casarotti, & Penna, 2012).5.Decontamination is the process of treating an objective or inanimate surface to render it safe to handle while sterilization refers to the process of destroying all the living microbes such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa among others. A sterile object is one which is free of all forms of life (Santagati, Scillato, Patanè, Aiello, & Stefani, 2012).6.Chemotherapeutic antimicrobial chemicals refer to synthetic chemicals that can be used therapeutically to kill or control the growth and proliferation of the microbes. The agents with the ability to kill the microbes are termed cidal agents while those that inhibit the growth and proliferations of the microorganisms are termed staticagents (Kirchman, 2011). The purpose of the experiment was to investigate how the physical and chemical agents and processes can be used to control the growth and proliferation of two specifically chosen microbes. The two microorganisms that were used in the experiment included B. Subtilis and the E.coli. The experiments to be conducted include the Kirby-Bauer test, the lethal effects ofthe temperature, bleach test and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ofantibiotic drugs. Materials and Methods1.The Kirby-Bauer testThe test procedure was developed to help in determining the microbial susceptibility to different antibiotics. Materials used included small forceps, sterile cotton swabs, Mueller-Hinton agar plates and the paper disks impregnated with antibiotics (Slonczewski, Foster, &
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