Overview
Dr Samantha McLean is a senior lecturer in microbiology, her research group focusses on the development and evaluation of new antimicrobial technologies that reduce microbial contamination of materials. Her group has expertise including classical microbiology, antimicrobial testing, transcriptomics, standards (BSI, ISO) and the design and use of bespoke models for real-world microbiology application. Samantha is also a member of the British Standards Institute panel working group (products and biofilms).
Clinically relevant disease-causing bacteria and growth environments are necessary to rigorously test antimicrobial compounds and surfaces. Our team can test against a wide range of these bacterial pathogens under suitable containment.
Dr Samantha McLean
Current Research Areas & Activities
Biofilm prevention and eradication
Understanding mechanism of action for new antimicrobials
Development of antimicrobial and antibiofilm surfaces
Specialises in
Development of novel antimicrobials
Mechanism of action studies
Antimicrobial activity testing
Bespoke models for biofilm formation
Bacterial transcriptomic analyses
Microbiology testing to recognised standards (BSI, ASTM, ISO etc.)
Bacterial bioreactor studies under steady state
Biofilm characterisation using quantitative and qualitative techniques
In vivo toxicity and infection studies using Galleria mellonella
Selected Publications
Mannix-Fisher, E., and McLean, S., (2021) The antimicrobial activity of silver acetate against Acinetobacter baumannii in a Galleria mellonella infection model. PeerJ 9:e11196 DOI 10.7717/peerj.11196
Varney, A.M., Smitten, K.l., Thomas J.A., and McLean, S. (2020) Transcriptomic Analysis of the Activity and Mechanism of Action of a Ruthenium(II)-Based Antimicrobial That Induces Minimal Evolution of Pathogen Resistance. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00159
Wareham, L.K., McLean, S., Begg, R., Rana, N., Ali, S., Kendall, J.J., Sanguinetti, G., Mann, B.E., and Poole, R.K. (2018) The Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Potential of [Mn(CO)4(S2CNMe(CH2CO2H))], a Water-Soluble CO-Releasing Molecule (CORM-401): Intracellular Accumulation, Transcriptomic and Statistical Analyses, and Membrane Polarization. Antioxidants and Redox Signalling 28(14), 1286-1308
McLean, S., Begg, R., Jesse, H.E., Mann, B.E., Sanguinetti, G., and Poole, R.K. (2013) Analysis of the bacterial response to Ru(CO)3Cl(glycinate) (CORM-3) and the inactivated compound identifies the role played by the ruthenium compound and reveals sulphur-containing species as a major target of CORM-3 action. Antioxidants and Redox Signalling 17, 1999-2012