CHARACTERIZATION OF A NARROW SPECTRUM ANTIMICROBIAL THAT EXHIBITS SPECIFIC ACTIVITY AGAINST UROPATHOGENIC BACTERIA
Abstract
Narrow-spectrum antimicrobials offer an alternative to widely used broad-spectrum antimicrobials which have been implicated as a critical cause of the rise of drug resistant bacteria. Additionally, the presence of females in the field has precipitated the need to address female-specific events that may compromise mission performance such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), reported to affect more than half the population of female Soldiers. Such frequency clearly warrants a technology, such as a novel textile with narrow-spectrum antimicrobial treatments, to prevent this infection state to enable the Warfighter to maintain performance to execute mission objectives. The objective of the work described in this report is to identify a narrow-spectrum antimicrobial that exhibits targeted activity against uropathogenic bacteria and characterize its production and purification to yield preliminary data toward the development of a narrow-spectrum technology that prevents the development of UTIs. The narrow-spectrum antimicrobial of focus for this work was colicins, a family of bacteriocins, generated by Escherichia coli that demonstrate specific activity. A collection of colicins was screened for activity against representative uropathogenic bacteria and commensal microorganisms. Analysis of the activity results lead to down-selection of one colicin for further characterization. Conditions to promote the growth and synthesis of the colicin by the host microorganism were studied. Further, the stability of the colicin over time was evaluated in a stabilizing solution. The efforts detailed in this technical report offer preliminary data toward the development of an antimicrobial technology to enable female Soldiers to achieve mission objectives in the field.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 28, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1039521
Entities
People
- Caitlin M. Barrows
- Courtney M. Cowell
- Jennifer M. Rego
- Robert Stote
Organizations
- United States Army Soldier Systems Center