Thesis

An in vitro feasibility study of early wound infection diagnosis and bacterial strain differentiation using pH change

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Creator
Rights statement
Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2015
Thesis identifier
  • T14236
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201489878
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • About 25% of all diabetics have foot ulcers at one point in their life and this is also the leading cause of non-traumatic amputations in developing countries. Bacterial infection of a normally healing wound is suggested to induce delayed wound healing and development to a chronic wound. The pH in chronic wounds is alkaline which inhibits the immune response, reduces the efficiency of antibiotics and antiseptics, and also inhibits tissue enzyme response. This study investigates if there is a link between pH and bacterial colonisation in vitro. If successful, this could enable early bacterial infection detection and therefore improve patient treatment, healing rates and reduce antibiotic misuse. Furthermore, the disposable sensor technology used in this thesis can be integrated into wound dressings and used by itself or in a multi-array-sensor for continuous wound parameter monitoring. 25 hour growth curve experiments were conducted in LB media and FBS for S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Furthermore a long term growth experiment of both bacteria in FBS was implemented. In all three experiments, a significant 2 pH level drop of the media for S. aureus inoculated cultures could be identified while the pH drop for S. epidermidis was not that drastic. For both bacteria, however, the pH increased to higher alkaline values when the bacteria settles into stationary growth phase. More research will have to be conducted to verify these results in vivo and with different bacterial strains. It is suggested that S. aureus uses mild acid stimulation to alter its gene expression after the pH drop, which in turn changes its metabolism to produce alkaline end products.
Resource Type
DOI
Date Created
  • 2015
Former identifier
  • 1248091

Relations

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details PDF of thesis T14236 2021-07-02 Public Download