Figure 5. Bacterial loads in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) and lungs after inoculation with the MicroSprayer®.

Bacteria were suspended in PBS to optical densities of 1X10⁶ (Dose 1), 1X10⁵ (Dose 2), and 1X10⁴ (Dose 3) bacteria/mL, serially diluted, and plated onto agar medium to calculate the number of viable organisms in 50 µL. The MicroSprayer® was then used to deliver 50 µL of bacterial suspensions into the lungs of mice (n=3 per dose). Control mice were inoculated with 50 µL of sterile PBS. Seventy-two hours post-inoculation, the animals were euthanized and tissues (BALF, lungs) were collected, homogenized, diluted, and plated onto agar medium to determine bacterial loads. Results are expressed as the mean (± standard error) total CFU/per tissue. Bp= B. pseudomallei 1026b, Bm=B. mallei ATCC23344. Black bars= lung homogenates, grey bars=BALF.