Open AccessThe electrical reactions of certain bacteria, and an application in the detection of tubercle bacilli in urine by means of an electric current
Publication year - 1909
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series b, containing papers of a biological character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9185
pISSN - 0950-1193
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.1909.0029
Subject(s) - electrode , current (fluid) , electrical current , bacteria , microscope , electric current , bacilli , foil method , materials science , direct current , electrolyte , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , optics , biology , electrical engineering , composite material , voltage , physics , engineering , genetics
The aim of the following experiments was to ascertain whether bacteria suspended in an electrolyte through which a current passes are transmitted to either electrode, and if so, whether pathogenic organisms could be collected and extracted by such means from pathological liquids.Method of Experiment . The first observations as to a possible migration of bacteria under the action of an electric current were made in the following way :— A cover square was fitted with two platinum foil terminals, separated about 6 mm. From each other. A drop of weak bacterial emulsion made electrical connection between these two terminals, and was prevented from evaporating by another cover square resting on the top of the first one, the edges of which were greased; the “glass cell,” as it may be called, was then mounted on a stand (fig. 1), which rested on the stage of a microscope, and a current of about 1 milliampere sent through it.