Micro-Etched Platforms for Thermal Inactivation of Bacillus Anthracis and Bacillus Thuringiensis Spores; Master's thesis

摘要

This research developed and applied microlithography techniques using a microscope slide platform in order to measure thermal inactivation of B.t. and B.a. spores, two closely related bacillus species. B.t. is widely used as a substitution for B.a. in response studies and as a B.a. surrogate in some field studies. This work addressed the previously identified problem of measuring both spore growth and spore thermal kill threshold using the traditional method of spreading a diluted spore solution on a plate. The micro- etched platforms forced spore separation thereby preventing neighbor growth from obscuring germination and initial vegetative growth measurements. The technique permits observation of small samples of spores over time and yielded more accurate response measurements. This study includes comparison of thermal responses between B.a. and B.t. spore species that were prepared and stored in exactly the same environment and conditions. Findings support the continued use of B.t. as a substitute for B.a. in this type of work and especially in studies for thermal inactivation for short times periods of a minute or less.