Effects of household cleaners on Escherichia coli Presented by: Brian Agee Undergraduate Microbiology Major Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN 38505
Project Summary Problem: Thousands of people develop illnesses each year due to contact with Escherichia coli. Objective: Determine if Escherichia coli is susceptible to common household cleaners and which products are the most effective at inhibiting and killing the bacteria Procedure: Disc Diffusion Assay Tube Growth Assay Expected Results: Escherichia coli will be susceptible to all of the cleaning agents.
Introduction Problem: Thousands of people develop illnesses each year due to contact with Escherichia coli. “The various strands of Escherichia coli are listed as being a leading cause of food-borne illnesses.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006) “The cost of food-borne disease in the USA has been estimated at $4-$6 billion.” (Rusin 1998) “An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the US every year.” (Rusin 1998)
Objective and Hypothesis Objective: Determine if Escherichia coli is susceptible to common household cleaners and which cleaners are the most effective at inhibiting and kill the bacteria. Hypothesis: Escherichia coli will be susceptible to all of the cleaning agents and therefore will not be able to survive in their presence. Null Hypothesis: Escherichia coli will not be susceptible to all of the cleaning agents and therefore grow in their presence.
Methods and Materials Disc Diffusion Assay Determines effectiveness of the cleaning agents ability to inhibit the bacteria (Goss 2005). Tube Growth Assay Determines effectiveness of the cleaning agents ability to kill the bacteria (Goss 2005). Data Forms Statistics Average Standard Deviation
Results and Benefits Results: The results of this experiment will demonstrate that Escherichia coli is susceptible to household cleaning agents. Benefits: The benefits of performing this experiment is to determine which cleaning agents prevent growth of bacteria the best in order to reduce the risks of a disease outbreak or illness.
Project Timeline
Project Budget