Abstract 1855 The Significance of Glucose Concentration on Bacterial Biofilm Formation

Biofilm is the aggregation of microbial cells on a surface and is encased in a self-produced polymer matrix. This matrix plays a critical role in providing both nutrients and a stable microenvironment for bacteria, thereby influencing their virulence and contributing to antibiotic resistance. Recently, conditions such as diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia have been linked to post operative and nosocomial infections. Elevated glucose levels were found to exacerbate the risk of biofilm associated infections by facilitating biofilm formation. To test the influence of glucose concentration on biofilm formation of Bacillus thuringiensis, an experiment was conducted with varying glucose concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 150 mg/dL using two 96-well plates which were incubated for 24 and 48 hours respectively. The optical density (OD) at 600 nm gauged the bacterial culture growth. Gram staining with crystal violet and microscopic imaging revealed increased biofilm density with the time of incubation. Biofilm formation increased with the increase in glucose formation. Further studies are being conducted with fructose and fructose. Acknowledgement – This work was supported by the 2023 Summer Research Experience and Robert Welch Foundation Grant No. AN-0008 at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, SFASU. RS thanks coworkers Justin Lovett, James Villanueva, and Alyssa Fisher.