Modeling of staphylococcus aureus in Intralipid 10% fat emulsion

by Sammy Suleiman

Submitted : Fall 2020

Staphylococcus aureus growth rate on Intralipid 10% fat emulsion medium was modeled to determine the viability of modeling Staphylococcus aureus contamination in fat emulsion dietary supplementation given to intensive care units patients. The Von Bertalanffy growth equation was used as a model, as it is an exponential growth that takes into consideration the carrying capacity of the environment, population size, and the slow division of the bacteria population due to unfavorable growth medium consisting of lipids. This medium is considered unfavorably as Staphylococcus aureus grows optimally in sugar rich medium. Von Bertalanffy growth equation has several parameters that defines the growth curve which are dependent on environmental conditions. This results in a model that allow for exponential growth of bacteria but at a decreasing rate over time. This model was used to calculate the horizontal asymptote, lag time, maximum growth, and exponential phase duration of experimental results. These parameters were then used to determine the viability of using the Von Bertalanffy growth equation to model Staphylococcus aureus in Intralipid 10% fat emulsion. 

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