Stem-202 Group Project 3

Participants: Amber Habicht, Abby Hernandez, Gabrielle Kapfer
Course: STEM Scholars’ Research Lab II, STEM-202-HN01
Mentors: Jane Jones, Maddi Sigler, Brigid Sherman, Shelly Paterno
Assignment Title: Prevention of biofilm grown in temporary catheters using bacteriophages.

Abstract

Biofilms are a community of microorganisms such as bacteria that stick together and to other surfaces, such as catheters. Biofilms are found very often in clinical settings, especially in urinary catheters tubes, most often in the form of E. coli biofilms. These biofilms are often able to grow easily in temporary catheters because they are not changed often, and the bacteria are able to settle and grow on the inner surface of the catheter. This is a major cause of nosocomial infections (infections gotten in medical settings). Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and grow in bacteria, effectively inhibiting and/or killing the bacteria. These bacteriophages can be used to inhibit the growth of bacterial biofilms; especially E. coli biofilms in hospitals by creating a coating made with biofilms to cover the inside of the catheter tubes. This would effectively kill the bacteria before it is able to stick to each other and form a biofilm preventing nosocomial infections from happening.