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. 2001 Sep;33(3):196-200.
doi: 10.1046/j.1472-765x.2001.00976.x.

The mechanism of carbonate killing of Escherichia coli

G N Jarvis  1 , M W Fields, D A Adamovich, C E Arthurs, J B Russell
Affiliations

The mechanism of carbonate killing of Escherichia coli

G N Jarvis et al. Lett Appl Microbiol. 2001 Sep.

Abstract

Aims: To define the mechanism of carbonate killing in Escherichia coli.

Methods and results: Sodium carbonate (150 mM) and ethylenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA, 60 mM) both killed E. coli K-12 when the pH was 8.5, but ammonium chloride (150 mM) was ineffective. EDTA was a 5-fold more potent agent than carbonate, but some of this difference could be explained by ionization. At pH 8.5, only 1.6% of the carbonate is CO(-2), but nearly 100% of the EDTA is EDTA(-2).

Conclusion: As carbonate and EDTA had similar effects on viability, cellular morphology, protein release and enzymatic activities, the antibacterial activity of carbonate seems to be mediated by divalent metal binding.

Significance and impact of the study: Cattle manure is often used as a fertilizer, and E. coli from manure can migrate through the soil into water supplies. Previous methods of eradicating E. coli were either expensive or environmentally unsound. However, cattle manure can be treated with carbonate to eliminate E. coli, and the cost of this treatment is less than $0.03 per cow per day.

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