UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Filters

20141

Settings

Author: search.filters.author.Bales, PatrickSubject: search.filters.subject.Depolymerase

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exopolysaccharide Analysis and EPS Depolymerases as Possible Biofilm Control Strategies
    (2014) Bales, Patrick; Nelson, Daniel; Molecular and Cell Biology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Bacteria form biofilms by adhering to surfaces and secreting high molecular weight macromolecules. When in the biofilm mode of growth, bacteria possess increased resistance to the action of antimicrobials and the immune system. By gaining an increased understanding of the structure of the biofilm extrapolymeric substance (EPS) and investigating ways to break up the EPS matrix, more effective treatment of biofilm-related infections can be achieved. In this thesis, the isolation and characterization of the polysaccharide portion of the EPS of several bacterial species is reported. The identification of 14 possible biofilm-degrading enzymes is described. One of these enzymes, HexNW, is shown to be highly thermostable and effective as a biofilm treatment.