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Bacterial Toxicity Assessment Using Resazurin Reduction Kinetics: An Undergraduate Toxicity Experiment for the Chemistry-Biology Major

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S. Helliwell and T. J. Harden

School of Science and Technology, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia 2678

J. Chem. Educ., 1996, 73 (4), p 368

DOI: 10.1021/ed073p368

Publication Date (Web): April 1, 1996

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

An undergraduate toxicity experiment is described using the redox indicator resazurin as an indicator of dehydrogenase activity. Two types of bacteria are utilized, the Gram positive Streptococcus cremoris and a Gram negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, to demonstrate the potentially different toxicological responses to the same chemical. The resazurin reduction is followed spectrophometrically and appears to follow zero order kinetics, with absorbance versus time plots giving correlation coefficients of 0.99 or better. Working in pairs, students are easily able to carry out 10 kinetic runs in a three hour laboratory session. Percent inhibition by a chemical is determined by comparison with controls. Toxicity data are presented for a series of chlorobenzenes and the Hg2+ ion for two bacteria.

Keywords (Audience):

Second-Year Undergraduate

Keywords (Domain):

Biochemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Toxicology

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