Who uses anaerobic workstations? Here are four very different applications where an anaerobic workstation has been utilised:

Probiotic research
Necrotising enterocolitis is an acute inflammatory bowel disease that can develop in premature babies. Bifidobacterium probiotics are used as a preventative measure for this condition and, although rare, their use has been linked to bacteraemia. A case report by Acuna-Gonzalez et al was published in 2023 detailing the use of an anaerobic workstation to culture Bifidobacterium spp. from an infant’s blood culture to further study bacteraemia caused by this organism. Research like this is dependent on accurate anaerobic conditions.

Gut microbiome research
Li et al, 2017, studied gut dysbiosis and researched its effect on preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a postnatal condition characterised by hypertension and endothelial dysfunction and is one of the causes of neonatal and maternal mortality. Using an anaerobic workstation, they managed to re-establish gut microbial symbiosis using Limosilactobacillus reuteri, which improved endothelial dysfunction and ameliorated preeclampsia.

Environmental contamination research
In Australia, Khun et al, 2022, used an anaerobic workstation to study the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridioides difficile from soil samples from Vietnam. Identifying such information is important in determining the epidemiology of C. difficile infections and aids progression of treatment and preventative measures.

Dental research
Among the different areas of dental research, anaerobic workstations are used for periodontal disease studies. Earlier this year, Mizgalska et al used an anaerobic workstation to study the bacterium Tannerella forsythia, which has a high association with periodontal disease. They researched aptamers that bind to T. forsythia, and focused on two key aptamers that had the highest affinity. Promising leads have come from this research; it has provided a tool for further investigation and developments in diagnostics.

The Whitley Published Paper Database is free to use online. It provides additional information or allows users to read more scientific papers.