Investigations of the postantibiotic effect and related antibacterial activity of meropenem.

This study was initiated to investigate the post antibiotic effect and related antibacterial activity of the carbapenem antibiotic, meropenem. The antibacterial activity of meropenem was determined by establishing minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations when tested against the range of test organisms. The test organisms were all members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and were either clinical isolates or belonged to the National Collection of Type Cultures. In an attempt to determine possible mechanisms of resistance of the test organisms to antibiotics, they were analysed for their plasmid content and for their Beta-lactamase profiles. Post antibiotic effect is the delayed regrowth of bacteria after antibiotic exposure. In this study, the post antibiotic effect, which was evident after exposure of the test organisms to meropenem, was ultimately determined by five different methods. That is, by the standard method of viable counting, by viable counting in combination with a conductance technique, by the bioluminescence assay of bacterial ATP alone and in combination with the conductance technique and also by a morphological technique. After exposure of the test organisms to meropenem, osmotically fragile, aberrant morphological forms were observed in liquid culture and the methods of quantifying the post antibiotic effect were modified in order to maintain and quantify these aberrant morphologies. Results presented in this thesis suggest that viable counting does not accurately quantify aberrant morphological forms, and therefore post antibiotic effect, present after meropenem exposure. The bioluminescence assay of bacterial ATP and the conductance technique however, more accurately quantified both the aberrant morphological forms and the post antibiotic effect evident after exposure of the test organisms to meropenem.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Robert Gordon University

Year dc:date.issued

1994

Author dc:creator

• MacKenzie, Fiona M.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• I.M. Gould, D.G. Chapman and R.M.E. Richards

• Post‑antibiotic effect
• Meropenem
• Enterobacteriaceae
• Beta‑lactamase
• Bioluminescence assay
• Aberrant morphology

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:2807471
https://doi.org/10.48526/rgu-wt-2807471

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:2807471