Rachel Tang
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Josh Herzog
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Mechanical Engineering / Engineering
Program: UROP
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Authors: Rachel Tang, Joshua Herzog
Abstract
Microbial keratitis (MK), characterized as corneal inflammation due to infiltration of microbes, is difficult to diagnose and can lead to pain, irritation, and blindness. To combat this disease, accurate, non-invasive, and accessible tools are needed to identify bacteria. Our lab proposes to use ultraviolet (UV) induced fluorescence imaging to accurately identify species. However, for correct identification we need to understand the dependence of fluorescence properties on species and metabolism. To that end, cultures of E. coli, B. cereus, M. luteus were grown in solid and liquid media and their optical properties were investigated. Cell concentration was measured through laser extinction and UV fluorescence images were taken with a custom two-color camera system. Laser extinction and fluorescence images were analyzed with standard image processing techniques to determine an extinction coefficient and relative intensities of the two fluorescence bands. The extinction coefficient and relative fluorescence intensities are used to estimate cell density and fluorescence intensity ratio. Calculated values were then compared and regression analysis was applied to determine the relationship between fluorescence and bacterial growth. Preliminary data indicates there is a slight relationship between bacterial metabolism and fluorescence intensity ratio, although further work is needed to verify and quantify this effect.
