The Effect of Bile Acids on the Structural Integrity of Bacterial Membrane-Mimicking Lipid Vesicles via Dye Leakage
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Chemistry
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
The exploration of alternatives to antibiotics has become increasingly popular and demanding, with scientists and doctors all looking for ways to mitigate the effects of bacterial resistance. This research is crucial because deaths related to antibiotic resistance are at an all-time high; when repeatedly exposed to the same treatments, bacteria mutate and form a biological genome that is resistant to that treatment. Bile acids are naturally occurring compounds that are found in the liver of most mammals. The purpose of this study was to explore how cationic bile acid attacks a bacterial membrane and whether its effectiveness changes with varying dosing concentration to evaluate its potential as an antimicrobial alternative to antibiotics. It was hypothesized that as the concentration of bile acid increased, the intensity of dye-leakage released from anionic lipid vesicles, which mimic bacterial membranes, would increase because the cationic compound would break down the vesicles, causing the dye to leak out. Four different concentrations of bile acid in anionic DOPC/DOPG-based lipid vesicles were placed in a fluorescence spectrometer and the leakage intensities were recorded. The leakage intensities increased with the increase of the concentration of bile acid. A one-way ANOVA with a significance level (alpha) set at 0.05 gave a p-value of <0.001. It was concluded that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a significant difference exists in the mean leakage intensities among the four different concentrations of bile acid.
Recommended Citation
Tang, Colin, "The Effect of Bile Acids on the Structural Integrity of Bacterial Membrane-Mimicking Lipid Vesicles via Dye Leakage" (2024). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 466.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2024/all/466
Location
RITA 363
Start Date
3-23-2024 11:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Bile Acids on the Structural Integrity of Bacterial Membrane-Mimicking Lipid Vesicles via Dye Leakage
RITA 363
The exploration of alternatives to antibiotics has become increasingly popular and demanding, with scientists and doctors all looking for ways to mitigate the effects of bacterial resistance. This research is crucial because deaths related to antibiotic resistance are at an all-time high; when repeatedly exposed to the same treatments, bacteria mutate and form a biological genome that is resistant to that treatment. Bile acids are naturally occurring compounds that are found in the liver of most mammals. The purpose of this study was to explore how cationic bile acid attacks a bacterial membrane and whether its effectiveness changes with varying dosing concentration to evaluate its potential as an antimicrobial alternative to antibiotics. It was hypothesized that as the concentration of bile acid increased, the intensity of dye-leakage released from anionic lipid vesicles, which mimic bacterial membranes, would increase because the cationic compound would break down the vesicles, causing the dye to leak out. Four different concentrations of bile acid in anionic DOPC/DOPG-based lipid vesicles were placed in a fluorescence spectrometer and the leakage intensities were recorded. The leakage intensities increased with the increase of the concentration of bile acid. A one-way ANOVA with a significance level (alpha) set at 0.05 gave a p-value of <0.001. It was concluded that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a significant difference exists in the mean leakage intensities among the four different concentrations of bile acid.
