Antimicrobial Brass in Aqueous Medium

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of the project is to identify metals that can safely produce clean water for places where accessing uncontaminated water is an issue. Methods/Materials We first determined what metals exhibit a antibacterial effect by analyzing their effect on E. coli OP50 in a bacterial lawn. Next, we took the metals that did show an effect and measured each of their relative potency. For this procedure, we put each metal into an inoculated flask of bacterial broth and periodically measured the broth's absorbance in a spectrophotometer. Lastly, we repeated this with different compounds of brass. Results In the initial experiment, silver, copper, zinc, and brass displayed "zones of clearing" in the agar. In the flasks, silver had the greatest potency, followed by brass, copper, and zinc. Lastly, Brass 230 had a higher antibacterial effect than Brass 260. Conclusions/Discussion Because silver is expensive and also causes skin to turn blue, a disease called argyria, brass is the more optimal metal to employ as a antimicrobial agent in filters and among daily things such as doorknobs, subway handles, etcetera.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Microbiology (General) · Entry S1518

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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