Microbial concentrations can be measured in terms of cell concentration (the number of viable cells per unit volume of culture) or of biomass concentration (dry weight of cells per unit volume of culture). These two parameters are not always equivalent because the average dry weight of the cell varies at different stages of a culture. Nor are they of equal significance: For example, in studies of microbial genetics and the inactivation of microbes, cell concentration is the significant quantity; in studies on microbial biochemistry or nutrition, biomass concentration is the significant quantity.

A. Viable Cell Count

The viable cell count (Table 1) is typically considered the measure of cell concentration. For this, a 1-mL volume is removed from a bacterial suspension and serially diluted 10-fold followed by plating 0.1-mL aliquots on an agar medium. Each single invisible bacterium (or clump of bacteria) will grow into a visible colony that can be counted . For statistical purposes, plates containing between 30 and 300 colonies give the most accurate data. The plate count × the dilution × 10 will give the number of colony forming units (CFU)/mL in the undiluted bacterial suspension. Using this method, dead bacteria within the suspension do not contribute to the final bacterial count.

Table1. Example of a Viable Count

B. Turbidity

For most purposes, the turbidity of a culture, measured by photoelectric means, can be related to the viable count using a standard curve. As an alternative a rough visual estimate is sometimes possible: For example, a barely turbid suspension of Escherichia coli contains about 107 cells per milliliter, and a fairly turbid suspension contains about 108 cells per milliliter. The correlation between turbidity and viable count can vary during the growth and death of a culture; cells may lose viability without producing a loss in turbidity of the culture.

C. Biomass Density

In principle, biomass can be measured directly by determining the dry weight of a microbial culture after it has been washed with distilled water. In practice, this procedure is cumbersome, and the investigator customarily prepares a standard curve that correlates dry weight with viable cell count. Alternatively, the concentration of biomass can be estimated indirectly by measuring an important cellular component such as protein or by determining the volume occupied by cells that have settled out of suspension.

مواضيع ذات صلة

Immunologic Detection of Microorganisms

Identification of Bacteria

Growing Bacteria in Culture

Cultivation of Listeria, Corynebacterium, and Similar Organisms

Pathogenesis and Spectrum of Disease for Listeria, Corynebacterium, and Similar Organisms

The Growth Curve in Batch Culture

Bacterial Pathogenesis

Distribution of Normal Flora in The Body

Cultivation of Bacillus and Similar Organisms

Diagnostic Laboratory Tests for Borrelia Burgdorferi

Bacterial Cell wall

Bacillus cereus