Luminescent viability assay designed specifically for bacterial cells promises increased sensitivity with results in five minutes
It is now possible to detect as few as ten bacterial cells, directly in culture medium, with the new Bactiter-Glo microbial cell viability assay from Promega.
Based on the luminescent detection of ATP, the new assay can detect viable bacteria in just five minutes, with a stable light output (half-life of 30 minutes).
Due to the superior sensitivity of Bactiter-Glo, bacterial levels can be determined very quickly after inoculation.
This approach means that the effects of antimicrobial compounds can be measured at earlier time points when evaluating growth/no growth in broth culture or when determining the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of a particular compound, without the risk of missing the effects of unstable compounds.
Further applications of the assay include quantification of bacterial cultures to maximise plasmid yield, and faster analysis of slow-growing bacteria.
The assay is homogeneous in nature, with just a single reagent being added directly to the culture medium; there are no separate lysis or centrifugation steps.
The stable signal allows detection in single or multiwell formats and means that Bactiter-Glo is readily adaptable to automation.
Bactiter-Glo has been specially formulated to detect viable bacteria, although it is suitable for use with other micro-organisms including yeast and fungi.
It therefore has potential use in a number of industrial applications: detection of surface contamination for hygiene monitoring; detection of contamination during manufacturing, or in raw products; environmental monitoring.
