Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi my name is Nikki and I am currently working on a science project regarding bacterial resistance. For my project I will be testing bacterial resistance to both synthetic (prescribed antibiotics), and natural antibiotics (honey, garlic etc...) to see whether either of these work better to delay the evolution of superbugs. During my experiment, I will be measuring the amount if resistant bacteria over the course of 5 generations of bacteria to determine whether the bacteria have evolved to become resistant. Though as I started to write up the procedure for it, I found myself with many unanswered questions, and I was wondering if someone out there could answer them.

Here are several of my questions:
What bacteria would best suit this experiment?
Does the bacteria to water ratio (for applying to the Petri dish) vary depending on the bacteria? (I was thinking a mixture of 10mL of batería to 40mL of water)
Which synthetic and natural antibiotic would work best to combat the bacteria?
How can I dispose of this dangerous bacteria safely?
What sort of safety precautions should I take to prevent a spread of disease that is resistant to antibiotics?
Where should I refrigerate the samples if a lab is not available?
How should I apply the antibiotic to the Petri dish?

Thank you for reading all of my questions and my project! I hope to here from sobody soon!

Hello NR805,

That sounds like an interesting experiment. In terms of bacteria to use, it is possible to order E.coli from suppliers, which is probably the best bet. https://www.homesciencetools.com/escher ... i-bacteria
In terms of the best combination to use, I believe that is what you are testing, so you will hopefully figure that out from your experiment.
The best way to dispose of the bacteria is to have the plates/tubes sterilized (usually done in an autoclave). Since that is probably not available to you, you will want to clean any surfaces you touch thoroughly with ethanol and always wear gloves.
You never want to store your bacteria someplace where there is food stored. Perhaps if you have a separate dedicated mini-fridge that would work.
Here is a good resource for applying the antibiotic to already made agar plates (the concentration depends on how soon you will use them). http://unitedscientists.org/labs/norway ... ntibiotics.

Hope this helps,
Elizabeth