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Certain chemicals (called chelators) can bind to metals. Certain metals, are needed by bacteria to grow because they use them to produce energy or help them cope with unpleasant environments. If you manage to bind the metals already or if you manage to stop the bacteria picking up those metals the bacteria can’t survive very well. Sometimes they die off or they try to find a different metal to use, overall though they can’t grow or divide so that’s when other antibiotics can come in to finish them off.

I am specifically looking at a chemical called EDTA, it is found in many (if not all household products) and helps antibiotics or preservatives kill bacteria. It is not known how they do it so I have to try and find out!

I grow bacteria up and sometimes smash them open to read their DNA and RNA,this is a good indicator of how bacteria are reacting and what they are “seeing” around them. Sometimes instead though, I look at their proteins specifically the ones they use to survive and see if they’re working properly. I grow bacteria and see how my chemicals are affecting them/how they are growing and I look at their structure and see if it is altered in some way with a microscope! This sounds boring but the microscope thing means I have to use a dye that glows and its actually really pretty!