R. E. Sherburn

Aerial release of bacteria from cot mattress materials and the sudden infant death syndrome

Aim:  To investigate aerial release of bacteria from used cot mattresses and to assess factors that may influence this process.

Used cot mattresses as potential reservoirs of bacterial infection: nutrient availability within polyurethane foam

Aim:  To evaluate possible source of nutrients for bacterial growth within polyurethane (PU) foam of used cot mattresses as determinants of bacterial population density.

A novel and rapid approach to yeast differentiation using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionisation time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was investigated as a method for the rapid identification of yeast cells. Following pretreatment of yeast samples with a cell wall digesting enzyme (lyticase), distinct and reproducible mass spectra over the m/z range 2,000 to 16,000 were obtained by MALDI-TOF-MS. Using an optimised procedure, characteristic mass spectra that distinguished between Candida spp. and between strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were produced. The approach offers the potential for rapid differentiation of yeasts in clinical diagnosis and in the fermentation industries.

Growth and survival of bacteria implicated in sudden infant death syndrome on cot mattress materials

Aims:  To compare growth and survival of selected bacteria implicated in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) on cot mattress polyurethane (PU) inner‐foams and on different types of cot mattress cover materials.