Abstract

The pathogenicity and intractable nature of the microorganism Staphylococcus aureus (SA) has been long documented and highlighted by many health care agencies, with emphasis on its ability to exploit the human coagulation system to deadly effect. Two drugs from a class of inhibitors known as Direct Thrombin Inhibitors (DTI) have been shown to have a substantial effect on the enzyme secreted by SA known as Staphylocoagulase (SC), but up until now the application of this potential treatment has been limited. This paper strives to supply an overview of these clinical studies and propose a novel protocol for testing DTI's on SA in an in vitro setting. Three DTIs have been identified, including two already tested in clinical trials, and computational molecular docking simulations have been applied to elucidate the mechanisms of action for the inhibition. An additional DTI has been developed using these mechanisms as principles and shows promise for future development. After conducting this preliminary protocol, it has been found that running a minimum inhibitory concentration test across several tubes with varying degrees of these DTIs demonstrated varying levels of coagulation consistent with the findings of clinical research papers. It is fair to conclude, then, that after development or discovery of new coagulase inhibitors, they can be quickly and accurately tested against existent DTIs to gauge their efficacy.

Thesis Completion

2019

Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Schroeder, Kersten

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Medicine

Department

Biomedical Sciences

Degree Program

Biomedical Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Release Date

6-1-2021

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