How to experimentally determine osmotic environment?

03 June 2025 1 4K Report

I have placed E. coli in a medium supplemented with a specific sugar and observed evidence of membrane impairment. How can I determine whether the sugar has changed the osmolarity of the medium?

Would assessing the viscosity or the melting point help determine whether the sugar has changed the chemical-physical characteristics of the medium?

Thank you

Nunthaphan Vikromvarasiri

You can use a simple method to test whether the specific sugar impairs the E. coli membrane by using different concentrations. Previous studies have shown that varying sugar concentrations can affect the osmotic pressure in culture media.

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