The Experiment Idea – Are There More Bacteria on Artificial Fingernail Than Natural Nail?
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Theoretical Experiment Van Iang10/17/16The experiment idea Are there more bacteria on artificial fingernail than natural nail? IntroductionParts of the human body which has greatest contact with the external world are the hands. Every day, hands are being use for many different types of activities. The hands are the easiest way to get in contact with different bacteria. Bacteria are commonly transfer by hands to people and other object. Unexpectedly, a lot of microorganisms found on the hands harbor in the fingernails mostly in hyponychium, the area between nail plate and skin of the fingertip (Chen et al, 2010).There was a study done to conclude “differences in the identity and quantity of microbial flora from healthcare workers (HCWs) wearing artificial nails compared with control HCWs with native nails” (Hedderwick et al, 2000). Researcher found that artificial fingernails were more likely contribute to the transmission of pathogens than natural nails. The study suggested that limiting artificial fingernails in healthcare settings is necessary (Hedderwick et al, 2000).Since fingernails is where most bacteria are found, I wanted to learn what types of nails have more bacteria. Are there more bacteria on artificial fingernail than natural nail? Artificial fingernails has become very common in the past year. But the truth is that both artificial fingernail and natural nail can lead to illness because bacteria like harbor on it. Microbes are likely to harbor in long fingernails than short nails. It has been reported that artificial fingernails harbor more bacteria than natural nails (Lin et al, 2002).
HypothesisThe purpose of the project is to find out whether or not artificial fingernail have more bacteria than natural nails. I predict that there will be more bacteria in the artificial fingernail than natural nail. If the artificial nail has more growth in the plate then it is an indication that more bacteria are in the artificial fingernail than naturalMethodsIn order to see which types of nail have more bacteria, bacteria on artificial fingernails and natural nails will be collected.Sample: small amount bacteria from artificial nails and natural nails.have large sample size by collecting bacteria from many different nails to be more accurateUse sterile cotton swab to collect the sample (bacteria from artificial nails and natural nails). Transfer the bacteria (sample) on the swab to the surface of the Nutrient Agar (NA) plate, without allowing any contaminating bacteria or other microorganisms to get onto the plate. The best way to do this is to use the lid of the Petri dish to protect the agar. Label the plates Incubate the plateObserve the colonization of artificial nails and natural nails on the plate to determine which one has more bacteria.SafetyThe design of the experiment posed no safety threat to any individual. But one might need to be careful with the incubated plate because there will be many types of bacteria that already grow. Possible outcomesArtificial fingernails have more bacteria grow in the plate than natural nail so we can conclude that there are more bacteria in artificial fingernail than natural nails (Lin et al, 2002).Applications/Further questionsSince there are more bacteria growth in artificial fingernail than natural nails in the plate, we can conclude that more bacteria are in artificial fingernail than natural nails. From the research, I learned that different types of nails collect bacteria. Further question that needs to be answered is does the length of the nails matter when it comes to bacteria population on it. Are there more bacteria in long nails or short nails? The reason for this question is because there many different types of nails in length. A study found that bacteria are more likely to harbor in long fingernails than short nails (Lin et al, 2002). If this is the case then the making of longer artificial nails should be decreased to prevent transmission of pathogens, especially in healthcare setting.