Triclosan Soap Effectiveness at Killing Bacteria when Diluted with Water

The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether diluting antibacterial soap with water diminishes the effectiveness of Triclosan Soap. To test the hypothesis, 60 petri dishes were filled with Nutrient Agar, then Staphylococcus epidermidis was streaked across each plate. After incubating in a 37°C incubator for 24 hours, the antibiotic sensitivity discs that had been soaked in Triclosan soap concentrations of 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and, 0% were placed into 60 sterile petri dishes with about 2 discs per petri dish depending on the size of the bacteria colony. The plates were incubated an additional 48 hours and the petri dishes were taken out of the incubator and had the diameters of the area in which no bacteria survived around the filter paper, measured. The results of the experiment found that there was a gradual decline of the zone of inhibition’s diameter by about 0.33mm or 32.6% every time the Triclosan Soap concentration was decreased by 25%. This finding suggests that if you use antibacterial soap, you should not dilute antibacterial soap because there would be a noticeable decrease in the effectiveness of said soap