SESSION: 2024-25

BIOLOGY
INVESTIGATORY PROJEcT ON
“Study of Effects of Antibodies on micro-
organisms”

Name: Anirudh Mandal

Class: XII-B
Roll number:
This is to certify that ANIRUDH MANDAL, a student of
class 12thB has successfully completed the research on
the project of BIOLOGY titled “STUDY OF EFFECTS
ANTIBIOTICS ON MICRO-ORGANISMS” under the
guidance of Dr. ABHIJIT SAHA , PGT BIOLOGY during
the year 2024-25 in partial fulfilment of BIOLOGY
practical conducted by CENTRAL BOARD OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION

Signature of external examiner:

Signature of subject teacher:

 AcKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to
all those who contributed to the successful
completion of this investigatory project on the
study of Effects of antibiotics on
microorganisms.
First and foremost, I am deeply thankful to my
biology sir Dr. ABHIJIT SAHA, for his
invaluable guidance, continuous support, and
encouragement throughout the research.
I would also like to extend my appreciation to
my family and friends for their constant
motivation and support.

Finally, I am thankful to all the sources of

knowledge, including textbooks and online
resources, which helped me understand the
concepts of antibiotics.
 INDEx
 Introduction
 History and Discovery
 Goals
 How do antibiotics work?
 Why are antibiotics important?
 Resistance:
 Antibiotic Resistance
 How is Resistance spread?
 7 Types of antibiotics
 5 Basic mechanism of
antibiotic action against
bacterial cell
 Pros of taking antibiotics
 Side effects of taking antibiotics
 Experiment:
 Aim
 Materials Required
 Procedure
 Observations
 Conclusion
 INTRODUcTION
Antibiotics are chemicals that kill or
inhibit the growth of bacteria and ae
used to treat bacterial infections. They
are produced in nature by soil bacteria
and fungi. This gives the microbe an
advantage when competing for food and
water and other limited resources in a
particular habitat, as the antibiotic kills
off their competition. Only substances
that target bacteria are called
antibiotics.
 Antiseptics are used to sterilize surfaces of
living tissue when the risk of infection is
high, such as during surgery.
 Disinfectants are non-selective
antimicrobial, killing a wide range of
micro-organisms including bacteria. They
are used on non-living surfaces, for
example in hospitals.
 HISTORY AND DIScOVERY
In 1928, at St. Mary Hospital, London,
Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin.
Fleming was, a bit disorderly in his work and
accidently discovered penicillin. Upon
returning from holiday in Suffolk in 1928, he
noticed that a fungus, Penicillium notatum,
had contaminated a culture plate of
Staphylococcus bacteria he had accidently left
uncovered.
The discovery of penicillin changed the world
of medicine enormously. With its
development, infections that were previously
severe and often fatal, like bacterial
endocarditis, bacterial meningitis and
pneumococcal pneumonia, could be easily
treated.
Antibiotics were widely used for treating
soldiers during World War II, caring for battle
wound infections and pneumonia. By the mid-
to-late 1940s, it became widely accessible for
the general public.
 GOALS

 To study the effect of antibiotics

on micro-organisms(bacteria).
 To understand its mechanism
 HOW DO ANTIBIOTIcS
WORK?
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial
infections. Antibiotics take advantage of the
difference between the structure of bacterial
cell and the host’s cell.

They either prevent the bacterial cells from

multiplying so that the bacterial population
remains the same, allowing the host’s defense
mechanism to fight the infection or kill the
bacteria for example stopping the mechanism
responsible for building their cell walls.

An antibiotic can also be classified according to

the range of pathogens against which it is
effective. Penicillin G will destroy only a few
species of bacteria and is known as narrow
spectrum antibiotics. Tetracycline is effective
against a wide range of organisms and is
known as broad spectrum antibiotic.
 Why are antibiotics
important for us?
The introduction of antibiotics into medicine
revolutionized the way infectious diseases
were treated. Between 1945 and 1972,
average human life expectancy jumped by
eight years, with antibiotics used to treat
infections that were previously likely to kill
patients. Today antibiotics are one of the most
common classes of drugs used in medicine and
make possible many of the complex surgeries
that have become routine around the world.

Antibiotics are sometimes used in a limited

numbers of patients before surgery to ensure
that patients do not contact any infections
from bacteria entering open cuts. Without this
precaution, the risk of blood poisoning would
become much higher, and many of the more
complex surgeries doctors now perform may
not be possible.
 RESISTANCE
1.Antibiotic resistance
Bacteria are termed drug-resistant when they
are no longer inhibited by an antibiotic to
which they were previously sensitive. The
emergence and spread of antibacterial-
resistant bacteria has continued to grow due to
both the over-use and misuse of antibiotics.
Treating a patient with antibiotics causes the
microbes to adapt or die; this is known as
‘selective pressure’. In ideal conditions some
bacterial cells can divide every 20 minutes;
therefore after only 8 hours in excess of 16
million bacterial cells having resistance.
2.How is Resistance Spread?

Antibiotic resistance can either be inherent or

acquired. Some bacteria are naturally
resistance to some antibiotics due to their
physiological characteristics. This is inherent
resistance. Acquired resistance occurs when a
bacterium that was originally sensitive to an
antibiotic develops resistance. For example,
resistance genes can be transferred from one
plasmid to another plasmid or chromosome, or
resistance can occur due to a random
spontaneous chromosomal mutation.
 Types of antibiotics
Although there are well over 100 antibiotics, the
majority come from only a few types of drugs. These
are the main classes of antibiotics

ANTIBIOTIC EXAMPLE
PENICILLIN amoxicillin
CEPHALOSPORINS cephalexin
MACROLIDES erythromycin
FLUOROQUINOLONES ofloxacin
SULPHONAMIDES Bactrim ds
TETRACYCLINES tetracycline
AMINOGLYCOSIDES gentamicin
basic mechanism of antibiotic
action against bacteria:

 Inhibition of cell wall synthesis (most

common mechanism).
 Inhibition of protein synthesis (translation).
 Alteration of cell membranes.
 Inhibition of Nucleic acid synthesis.
 Antimetabolite activity.

The ribosome is a major target for

Antibiotics. Drugs inhibit ribosome
function either by interfering in
messenger RNA translation or by
blocking the formation of peptide
bonds at the peptidyl transferase
center. These effects are the
consequence of the binding of drugs to
ribosomal subunits.
pros of taking antibiotics
 Antibiotics can slow down the growth of
bacteria and kill many types of infections.
 In some cases, such as before surgery,
antibiotics can prevent infection from
occurring.
 Antibiotics are fast acting; some will begin
working within a few hours.
 They are easy to take; most Antibiotics are
oral medications. Your doctor may decide
to give you an injection, if it is imperative
that the medicine gets into your system
quickly.
Side effects of antibiotics
The most common side effects of antibiotics is-
it affects the digestive system. Antibiotics
commonly cause the following side effects:
 Diarrhea
 Nausea
 Vomiting
 Rash
 Upset stomach
 Sensitivity to sunlight, when taking tetracycline
 With certain antibiotics or prolonged use,
fungal infections of the mouth, digestive
tract, and vagina.
 Experiment
AIM: To see the effect of antibiotics on
bacteria count.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
 10 test-tubes of sterilized water
 10 PCA(Agar) plates
 Bunsen burner
 Graduated cylinder
 Ethanol (Used for sterilizing; just flame is
enough most cases)
 Glass hockey stick
 Pipettes
 Refrigerator
 Incubator (A warm cabinet for growing bacteria)
 Scale
 Large beaker
 Hot plate
 Sample antibiotic
PROCEDURE:
Step 1: Prepare a culture media plate for growing
bacteria.
Step 2: Get a sample of polluted water for test. Mix 2 ml
of polluted water with 10 ml chicken broth in a test tube
and incubate it for 24 hours so the bacteria will
reproduce and increase. Usually this is done on a device
that constantly moves, so the bacteria can freely move
in the liquid. Most likely you will not have a vibrator, so
it is good if you shake the test tube a few times during
this incubation period.
Step 3: While the bacteria are being incubated, prepare
some antibiotic disks as described here. (Antibiotic disks
can also be purchased from biology suppliers.)
Break an antibiotic capsule (here using Ampicillin)
and empty the contents in a clean petri-dish. One
capsule will be enough for hundreds of disks.

Dispose of the plastic shell and add a few drops of

water to the remaining powder. Cut some filter
papers in small pieces and soak them in the
antibiotic solution. Let the disks dry in a clean
space. You may cover them with another filter
paper to protect them from dust.
 Step 4: Use the bacteria that you have grown in step 2
and prepare dilution of bacteria.
1. Prepare 1:10 dilution of the sample. To do this, take 2ml
of the sample and blend it with 18ml of distilled water.
2. Pipette 0.1ml of each dilution onto a Plates Count Agar
(PCA) plate.
3. Take a glass hockey stick submersed in ethanol and run
it through a flame to sterilize it.
4. Let it cool and use it to spread dilution around the
plate.
5. Do this on two plates for each of the five different
dilutions.
6. Place an antibiotic disk on the plate of dilution.
7. Incubate the plate at 35 degrees Celsius for 24 hours
and then count the bacterial colonies.
8. Take 3 nutrient agar plate and added 0.5ml of the
solution on each of plates.
9. Leaving one plate without any antibiotics, placing one
antibiotic disk on the second plate and two antibiotic
disks on the third plate. All plates were incubated for
48 hours.
OBSERVATIONS:

PCA1

PCA2

PCA3

CONCLUSION:

The growth of bacteria around the antibiotic

disks is less. Inhibition zones are more in the
plates with more antibiotic disks.
Hence, antibiotics stop the
proliferation of bacteria.
 Bibliography
www.emedicinehealth.com
microbiologysociety.org
www.scienceproject.com
medicalnewstoday.com
www.scribd.com
www.studocu.com
Ncert BOOK Class 12th
www.wikipedia.com