Following the production phase of our project, we had 10 StarCore constructs to test. We set out to characterize their antimicrobial properties and mechanism of action. We had many questions in the following categories.

We evaluated the impact of StarCores on bacterial growth by treating bacterial cultures with the fusion proteins and monitoring the OD 600 through time. Representative results are shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Growth curves of E. coli (A) and B. subtilis (B) in the presence of StarCores.

We also quantified their antimicrobial activity by determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Ovispirin, a commonly used antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with no star-shaped geometry, was used as a control in every experiment. The results of the MIC determination are summarized in Table 1.