A Study of the Anti-Bacterial Properties of 3D-printed Water Filters on the Growth of E. coli

Ian SaracilaFollow

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Microbiology

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Bacterial growth in water, especially the antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria, is highly undesired in commonly used sources (wells, faucets, schools drinking fountains). For people having a compromised immune system, the effects can be even life threatening. The purpose of this study was to see if the hypothesis of using various designs of 3D printing water filters could inhibit, or even stop, the growth of bacteria such as E. coli. The research was conducted by comparing the growth of E. coli in 6 different samples of filter designs to see which type of filter had the largest impact on bacterial growth. E. coli was cultured and put in broth for growth. At the end, spectrophotometric analysis was performed on each sample to measure the bacterial growth. The results of this study showed that the optical density mean absorbance (at 600 nm) for the five 3D-printed samples with pattern was on average 1.58 AU, while the absorbance for the flat/blank pieces from the same material was 1.68 AU demonstrating that, on-average, the 3D-printed samples had less bacterial growth as hypothesized. To analyze the data, to calculate the significance and the standard error, formulas from MS Excel were used. Considering that the annual spent on cleaning products is around $46 billion (Center, n.d.) the result of this study offers a possible alternative to avoid using toxic chemicals to treat the water we drink by using specially designed patterns on 3D-printed water filters to inhibit or even stop bacterial growth.

Location

HSS 116

Start Date

4-2-2022 9:00 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Apr 2nd, 9:00 AM

A Study of the Anti-Bacterial Properties of 3D-printed Water Filters on the Growth of E. coli

HSS 116

Bacterial growth in water, especially the antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria, is highly undesired in commonly used sources (wells, faucets, schools drinking fountains). For people having a compromised immune system, the effects can be even life threatening. The purpose of this study was to see if the hypothesis of using various designs of 3D printing water filters could inhibit, or even stop, the growth of bacteria such as E. coli. The research was conducted by comparing the growth of E. coli in 6 different samples of filter designs to see which type of filter had the largest impact on bacterial growth. E. coli was cultured and put in broth for growth. At the end, spectrophotometric analysis was performed on each sample to measure the bacterial growth. The results of this study showed that the optical density mean absorbance (at 600 nm) for the five 3D-printed samples with pattern was on average 1.58 AU, while the absorbance for the flat/blank pieces from the same material was 1.68 AU demonstrating that, on-average, the 3D-printed samples had less bacterial growth as hypothesized. To analyze the data, to calculate the significance and the standard error, formulas from MS Excel were used. Considering that the annual spent on cleaning products is around $46 billion (Center, n.d.) the result of this study offers a possible alternative to avoid using toxic chemicals to treat the water we drink by using specially designed patterns on 3D-printed water filters to inhibit or even stop bacterial growth.