Burke, Alice J.

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The Influence of Chemicals on the Growth of Bacteria

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Loyola University ChicagoLoyola eCommonsMaster's Theses Theses and Dissertations1932The Influence of Chemicals on the Growth ofBacteriaAlice J. BurkeLoyola University ChicagoThis Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion inMaster's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact ecommons@luc.edu.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.Copyright © 1932 Alice J. BurkeRecommended CitationBurke, Alice J., "The Influence of Chemicals on the Growth of Bacteria" (1932). Master's Theses. Paper 13.http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/13LOYOLA UNIVERSITY THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMICALS ON THE GROWTH OF BACTERIA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF LOYOLA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL m CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY BY ALICE J. BURKE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1932. 1. INTRODUCTION. In presenting the paper as a resume of an investigation with regards to the influence of chemicals on the selective growth of bacteria I wish to acknowledge my great indebtedness to Dr. Emil Weiss, Professor of Bacteriol~gy at Loyola Univer-sity School of Medicine, who suggested the subject. I am also indebted to Dr. Weiss for his conatant interest and kind super-vision of this work. This project, as a whole, is a continua-tion of an earlier study of the same subject made by various authors and limited to a small number of chemicals. We had, at first, intentions of a thorough investigation covering a large number of chemicals with special regard to their influence. on the gro\rlh of bacteria. As the work ~re­gressed it was found that it would be necessary to limit the study totho•e chemicals which promised to give the best results. During the progress of our work we observed that the alkali metals were the most important and of the most interest. Of these the sod~um and potassium salts were of the most value. For this reason the larger percentage of the chemicals used were salts of these two metals. Special consideration had to be given to the solubility in water (H20) and the saturation points of these salts. Many salts,especially those of calcium, had to be eliminated because of their poor solubility in water. The general objec~of the experiment can be listed as follows: 1. Whether chemicals can be used for isolation of bacteria. 2 2. Whether chemicals ban be used for identification of bacteria. 3. Vfuether chemicals can be used for differentiation of re-lated strains. 4. Whether such properties (1, 2, 3) are characteristic of certain chemical groups and not of others. 5. The possibility of whether chemicals could be made use-ful in a way· similar t.o the carbohydr~tes. 6. The influence of the hydrogen ion concentration of these chemicals in regard: to growth. 7. The relationship of the molecula~weights with the use-fulness for this :purpose. a. Whether the osmotic pressure produced by the various chemicals {in broth) has· any effect on the growth of the bac-teria. Ho literature pertaining to this experiment has been published heretofore. MAT ERIAL .AND 1m HODS. The medium most extensively employed for this work was nutrient agar. This medium was used in two forms; i.e. agar slants and agar :plates. In a few cases nutrient broth·ms sub-stituted for the agar. Nutrient Agar. 10 grams of peptone, 5 grams of NaCl, 3 grams of Liebigs beef extract, and 40 grams of agar were dissolved in one liter of distilled water by auto-3. claving for 30 minutes at a pressure of 15 pounds. The medium was then filtered and was ready for the addition of the chemicals. Nutrient Broth. 10 grams of peptone, 5 grams of NaCl, and 3 grams of Liebigs beef extract were dissolved in one liter of distilled water by heating. The medium was filtered and was ready for the addition of the chemicals. Procedure of addinB the chemicals to the media. To lOOcc. portions of the medium!: gram, 5 grams, 10 grams and 15 grams of the chemical to be testedwere :added to make up 1%, 5%, 10% and 15% solutions respectively. These portions were then autoclaved for half an hour at 15 pounds pressure to aid the dissolving of the chemicals and sterilized the medium. The medium was then poured into sterile petri dishes or cottoned test tubes and al-lowed to solidify or cool. With those chemicals that precipita-ted the medium, the sterilization was shortened by bringing the pressure up to 15 pounds only.· Where there was no inhibition of growth with the 15% solutions the amount of chemical used was increased to 20%. The chemicals used for this work were obtained from the stock rooms of the Bacteriology and Chemistry departments as well as the general stock room of the school. The solubility and usefulness of the ammonium salts and those of the alkali metals were quickly grasped and the major portion of the chemicals used are of these groups. The ammonium salts used were: ammonium bicarbonate CNH4 HC~, ammonium bichrDm ate ((NB4) 2cr207 ), ammonium bromide (NH4Br), ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), ammonium c~omate ((NH4)2Cro4 ), ammonium iodide (NH4I), ammonium Oxalate ((NH4) 2C204), ammonium phosphate ((NH4)2HP04 }, ammonium sulfate ( (NH4)2so4 ), ammonium sulfocyanide (NH4SCli), ammonium tartarate{(NH4) 2C4B40&, and ammonium molybdate ( (NH4 )6Mo7024 } • The sodium compounds that were tested were: sodium acetate (NaC2E302 ), sodium ammonium phosphate (Na2NH4Po4 ), sodium borate (Na2B407), sodium bitartarate (NaHC4B4o6), sodium calcium hy-drate (N~OH + Ca(OH)2 ), sodium carbonate (Na2co3), sodium chlor-ide (NaCl), sodium choleate (C23H39o3COONa), sodium chromate (Na2cr o4 ), sodium cyanide (NaCN), sodium citrate (Na3C6H5o7), sodium hyposulfite (Na2s 2o3 ), sodium iodide (Nai), sodium nitratt ~aN03 ), sodium oxalate (N~c2o4), mono-sodium phosphate(NaH2P04) di-sodium phosphate (N~HP04 ), tri-sodium phosphate(Na3P04), sodium potassium tartarate (KNaC4H4o6), sodium sulfate (Na2so4 ), sodium sulfite (Na2so3 ), sodium sulfocarbolate (C6H40HS03Na), sodium sulfocyanate (NaCNS), sodium thiosulfate (Na2S203), sodium tungstate (N~WO), sodium nitro-prusside (Na2Fe(CN) 5No). The ~otassium salts ihcluded were: potassium acetate (KC2H302), potassium bicPromate (K2Cr20y), potassium biniodate (KH(I03 )2), potassium bromide (KBr), potassium carbonate (K2co3). J;)Qtassium chloride (KCl), potassium chlorate (KC103 ), potassium chromate (N2Cr04 ), potassium c.itrate (K3C6H5o7), potassium cyanate (KCNO), potassium c~anide (KCN), potassium ferricyanide 5. (K3Fe(CN) 6), potassium ferrocyanide (K4Fe(CN) 6), potassium hy-droxide (KOH), potassium iodate (KI03 ), potassium iodide (KI), potassium molybdate (K2Mo04 ), potassium nitrate (KN03), potassiu nitrite (K!102 ),_ potassium oxalate (K2c2o4 ), potassium phosphate (X2HP04 ), potassium sulphate (K2so4 ), potassium sulfide (K2S ), potassium tartarate (K2C4H4o6), potassium thiocyanate (KCNS), and potassium thiosulphate (K2S2o3). Of the alkaline earth metals only the following salts of barium were used: barium acetate (Ba(C2HS0 2 )2 ), barium carbon-ate (BaC6z), barium chloride (BaC12 ), barium hydroxide (Ba(OH) 2 ), barium iodide (Bai2), barium nitrate (Ba(N03 )2,), barium sulfate (Baso4 ), barium SUlfide (BaS). The number and strains of bacteria used were: 1. Staphylococcus albus. 2. Staphylococcus aureus. 3. Bacillus anthracis. 4. Bacillus subtilis. 5. Eberthella typhi. 6. Salmonella paratyphi. 7. Pseudomonas aeruginosa. a. Sarcina lutea. 9. Escherichia coli. 10. Proteus vn1garis. These cultures were obtained from the collections of the Bacteriological Departments of the Loyola University and the University of Illinois Medical Schools. A few of the strains 6. were obtained from the American Type Collection at McCormack Institute. These cultures were transferred daily to plaih agar slants or broth and in turn were used to inoculate the medium containing the chemicals. The method used for inoculating the prepared medium was as follows: After the medium containing the chemical to be tested had solidified and co.oled, one loop of a 24 hour culture was placed on the center of the agar. This ·amount Of the culture. '?ra ~ then c.arefully and uniformly spread over the surface of the med-ium with a~erile glass spreader. The cover was replaced on the petri dish and was placed cover-side down in the incubator. The first incubation was for 24 hours at 37!° Centigrade. If grotvth of the organism used was absent or only slight in character, an additional incubation period was given them at the same temperature and time. The results were then taken as final Those cases that gave results of doubtful character after the prolonged incubation period were repeated on new media. The number of repetitions and recheckings that were done depended on.y upon parallel results, so that no doubt of the findings of a par ticular experiment could be had. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS As the work progressed it became evident that the sodium and potassium salts would be the most useful, and the majority o the chemicals that give differential results are compounds of these elements. Of the ammonium group only one compound of value was found, 7. namely, the sulphate({NH4 )2S04 ). In this case a 5% solution of the salt entirely eliminates the growth of fseudomonas aeruginos~, but has no noticeable effect on the remaining organisms that wera test.ed .• Barium nitrate {Ba{N03 )2 ). hinders the growth of Escherichia coli and ~seudomonas aeruginosa in a 10% solution and does not hinder the growth of the other strains used. This salt is the only useful one found of this metal. The potassium compounds responded more readily, and gave several useful possibilities of differentiation of the bacteria used. The acetate {KC2H3o2) prevents the Staphylococcus aureus from powing in a 5~ solution though it does not influence the growth of the other organisms. 'fhe chromate (X2Cr04 ) in a 5% solution does not allow Bacillus subtilis or Fseudomonas aeru-ginosa to grow yet it does not materially hinder the growth of the rest. The citrate of this metal (K3C6H5o7) prevents the · growth of ataphylococcus albus in a 1~ solution. A 1% solution of the cyanide (KCN) inhibits the growth of both Bacillus subtil s and ~acillus anthrax while still allowing reproduction of the re maining organisms used. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) in as low a concentration· as 1% prevenwBacillus subtilis, ~seudomonas aeru-ginosa and Jberthella typhi from growing, though allowing the re maining organisms to live. Potassium Iodide (KI) in 5% solution allows the organisms to grow with the exception of Escherichia coli which it inhibits entirely. The Bacillus subtilis·was pre-vented fromgrowing by a 10% solution of potassium phosphate (K2m Ot) though there was no appreciable effect on the other strains usei a. The sodium salts were equally as useful for differential p~~­poses. Sodium borate (Na2B4o7)for example, in 1% solution al-lowed all of the organisms to grow heartily but subtilis which it totally eliminated. The chloride of this metal (NaCl) pre-vented only ischerichia coli from growing. Sodium chromate (Na2Cr04 ) was found to prevent not only Escherichia coli from growing but also ~roteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. Sodium citrate (Na3C6H5o7 ) prevents 3taphy-lococcus albus fromgrowing in a 15% solution. In concentration: oflO% sodium nitrate (NaN03 ) prevents EScherichia coli from grow ing as well as 1Seudomonas aerugihosa. The growth of ~cillus anthrax, ~rthella typhi,and Salmonella paratyphi was retarded, but no appreciable dif~erence was exhibited in the growth of S·baphylococcus albus, Btaphylococcus aureus and Sarcina lutea and ~roteus vulgaris. Sodium phosphate (Na3Po4 ) in 5% solution prevents the growth of 5taphylococcus aureus, E§cherichia coli, and Ba.cillus subtilis. It was observed that in the case of the phosphates of this metal (mono- di- tri-) that the growth of these organisms decreased inratio to the basic strength of the compound. Escherichia coli, Eacillus subtilis, and Eberthella typhi are inhibited by 7.5% sodium sulfite (N~03 ): Sodium sulpno carbolate (C6R40HS03Na) in 5% solution does not allow Escherichia coli to grow but has no apparent effect on the other organisms that were tested. SUM1lARY AND GENERAL CONSIDER.AT IONS From the scope of this work, there is not enough evidence 9. to show that there is a possibility of using chemicals for the isolation of bacteria. It is of only a limited v~ue as the ~hemicals do not respond to the growth of the bacteria in such a way as will eliminate all but one or two desired strains. This could only be accomplished by raising the concentration of the compounds used to a point that would impair the nutritive value of the medium used. The use of chemicals for the identification of bacteria is of no apparent value as concluded from this work. There was no case where a reaction of any chemical tested with any strain gave a positive identification. The greatest value of the use of chemicals in media is in differentiation of related strains. This is not only a more logical but more desirable use, as the related strains once differentiated on a chemical medium can easily be identified by other means. The compounds found to be useful in regard to this work were in the majority those of sodium and potassium. However many compounds of these two metals could not be used and raises the question of whether or not the negative radicals were re-sponsible. A conclusion in this direction seems to be a favor-aile one, as the·useful compounds of these metals, i.e.: chroma e citrate, cyanide, phosphate, are in agreement. Ammonium and po-tassium iodide, ammonium and sodium sulphates, barium and sodi~ nitrates also point to this conclusion. The value of the po~ tassium and sodium apparently lies in the greater solubility and 10 and ionization of their compounds. Chemicals,(with exceDtion of the use of NaCl for osmotic pressure,) have apparently no nutri~ive value and cannot be used with the organisms tested to split them up and thus cause a difference in pH to change indicators for differential results as in the case of carbohydrates. The hydrogen ion concentration apparently is not of any great importance as the solid media does not allow the chemicals to remain in the ionized state after solidification and in the case of liquid media the peptone and meat extract are sufficient ly strong buffers to allow any appreciable change. The acidity or alkalinity of the compound apparently is no outstanding factor because the useful chemicals were not only acid and basic but neutral as well. J.J.thoughthere is a predominance of high molecular weights among the more useful chemicals that were used, there are many whose molecular weights are quite low, apparently pointing more to the chemical composition with regard to usefulness than to the number of elements present. The thesis "The Influence of Chemicals on the Growth of Bacteria.", written by Alice J. Burke, has been accepted by the Graduate School of Loyola University, with reference to form, and by the readers whose names appear below, with reference to content. It is, therefore, accepted in pa.rtia.l fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. 

The Influence of Chemicals on the Growth of Bacteria

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