Biofilm formation within burn wounds pose numerous health-related problems as they prolong recovery, inhibit antimicrobial treatments, and serve as a reservoir to spread new infections. In the United States alone there are half a million burn wounds each year. These burn wounds result in tens of thousands of patients to be admitted to hospitals and thousands of deaths. Burn wound infections alone account for over half of these deaths. Currently, standard models of burn wound biofilms, both in-vivo and in-vitro, have their benefits and limitations. These models include skin explants, animal models, and complex growth media. For the examination of microbial biofilms and rapid screening of potential antimicrobial topical treatments, a physiologically relevant media that more closely mimics what would be found in the host’s tissue would be advantageous. This pilot study was conducted to examine different formulations of a synthetic tissue-like media, the biofilm growth of common burn wound infectious microbes, and served as a high-throughput means of testing current and potentially new antimicrobials. Our laboratory has begun characterizing a new antimicrobial gel and its ability to eradicate microorganisms that commonly infect burn wounds, specifically focusing on the common wound microbe Staphylococcus aureus. Utilizing a constitutively expressed green fluorescent protein, both the growth on the textured media, as well as, biofilm inhibition by the antimicrobial gel showed significant reduction in S. aureus. On a molecular level, we examined biofilm gene expression, via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, of adhesion, quorum sensing, and drug resistance markers in our new model in conjunction with our antimicrobial gel. Our new synthetic wound-like media supported the growth of S. aureus and was successful in its ability to quickly screen different formulations of topical antimicrobial treatments. The antimicrobial gel produced significant reduction of S. aureus burden. The results of this study indicate that our formulated synthetic burn wound media model supports microbial growth, is efficient in the ability to rapidly screen antimicrobials, and could lead to a better understanding of the etiology of burn wound infections.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-2165 |
| Date | 25 April 2023 |
| Creators | Pelletier, M. Amelia, Nelson, Tasha, Fox, Sean J |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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