Shock Compression and Recovery of Microorganism-Loaded Broths and an Emulsion

Abstract

The microorganisms Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Zygosaccharomyces bailii and an oil-based emulsion, have been subjected to shock compression using the flyer-plate technique to initial pressures of 0.8 GPa (in the suspension). In each experiment, a stainless steel capsule was used to contain the broths and allow for recovery without contamination. Where cavitation was mostly suppressed by virtue of simultaneous shock and dynamic compression, no kill was observed. By introducing an air gap behind the suspension, limited kill was measured in the yeast. Results also suggest that stable emulsification occurs in coarse oil-based emulsions that are subjected to shock.

High-Pressure Biochemistry and Biophysics

“…These hypervelocity impacts are integral to several hypotheses arising from origin-of-life questions. Experiments have now tested several strains of bacteria, including Rhodococcus erythropolis, Bacillis subtilis, E. coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and the eukaryote Zygosaccharomyces bailii at shock pressures (Burchell et al 2001(Burchell et al , 2004Hazell et al 2010Hazell et al , 2009. In some experiments the bacteria are subjected to shock pressures of up to 78 GPa and survive (Burchell et al 2004).…”

Bacterial survival following shock compression in the GigaPascal range

“…Several pioneering studies have now investigated the survival of living organisms during the transient high-P,T conditions encountered during shock compression (Gruzielanek et al, 2010;Hazell et al, 2010;Horneck et al, 2008;Burchell et al, 2004;Burchell et al, 2001). These experiments have been conducted using light gas guns (Burchell et al, 1999) on various broths, spores and bacterial organisms to achieve peak pressures between 1-8 GPa (Price et al, 2013;Hazell et al, 2010;Hazell et al, 2009;Burchell et al, 2004;Burchell et al, 2001). Reported proportions of surviving colony-forming units (CFU) have been remarkably high (Fajardo-Cavazos et al, 2009), with survivors recorded following exposure to peak shock pressures as high as 78 GPa (Burchell et al, 2004a).…”