Session: Undergraduate Research Posters: Nanochemistry:

The first line of defense against bacterial infections tend to be antibiotics. Although antibiotics have been proven effective in treating these types of infections, bacteria have the ability to develop resistance to these antibiotics. This results in two questions: Can a mixture of different antibiotics be made to combat already resistant bacteria? Can a new form of antibiotics be made which bacteria are unlikely to develop resistance to? The goal of this research is to provide an alternate to traditional antibiotics in the treatment of bacteria by introducing nanoparticles into the making of antibiotics. Silver nanoparticles are known to have intrinsic antimicrobial properties and are being studied as potential supplements or replacements for traditional antibiotic treatments. This study was conducted to investigate the synergy between silver nanoparticles and various antibiotics on the growth of the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. Cultures were incubated in tryptic soy broth and Phosphate Buffered Saline with serially diluted concentrations of varied antibiotics and silver nanoparticles synthesized using histidine and tryptophan. A checkerboard array was used. Using UV-Vis spectrophotometry the growth of bacteria was quantified after several hours. A well diffusion method was used to determine the potential antimicrobial abilities of the nanoparticles. Evidence of a synergistic interaction between silver nanoparticles and antibiotics was observed. This result albeit preliminary may aid in the development of new antibiotics and drug delivery methods.

Kenneth LaiHing

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