Week 5

This week we did the PCR for our experiment and double checked the dates for all of our media additions and quantities. I'm going to think about if it is possible to UV degrade the plastics for part of the experiment. This should have the effect on oxidizing the plastic and increasing carbonyl groups that will make the plastics more biodegradable. I'm not sure about the availability of an appropriate UV light source. That includes the amount of time that I am able to use it. We've started SEM of samples from this semester. We have been attempting to use alcohol treatment for the removal of biofilms on the plastics post coincubation in order to better visualize plastic biodegradation. Preliminary SEM indicated that this is ineffective. We also have a specific detergent that we are thinking of adding to the protocols but probably just for SEM as we worry about its effects on FTIR. We'll see.

Can you see the bacteria and biofilm? This is one of the best pictures that I've gotten of it on our samples which is exciting. Unfortunately, it's not really what we were hoping to see.