Traditional bacterial detection methods can take days and may not detect all types of bacteria. Newer methods include PCR, infrared devices, and rapid scans. A sensor coated with bacterial antibodies can detect changes in frequency to indicate bacterial presence in minutes. PCR can quickly detect small amounts of bacteria using RNA and DNA amplification techniques.
Bacteria detection is important in many industries to protect food, air and water from contamination or to identify the source of infection in a medical setting. Traditional methods of detecting bacteria, such as harvesting cultures, are effective but can take hours or days to show results and may not detect most types of bacteria. Newer and faster methods of detecting bacteria are being developed to streamline the process and increase detection rates. Some of these include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), infrared devices that detect bacteria in food, and rapid scans that detect bacterial contamination in blood platelets. Many of these methods detect bacteria by measuring oxygen levels or tiny electrical disturbances that indicate the presence of bacteria.
The traditional bacterial detection technique is to take a sample, grow a culture of bacteria, and count the bacteria that grow. This method is commonly used in medical settings harboring blood platelet products. Because platelet products must be stored at room temperature, they are at high risk of bacterial contamination.
Traditional culture techniques detect changes in oxygen levels that indicate the presence of bacteria, but results can take seven days. There are newer and faster ways to detect bacteria, such as solid-phase cytometry, which detects and counts all fluorescently labeled bacteria within three minutes.
Like the methods used to detect bacteria in platelet products, bacterial detection in water or air typically requires platelet counts, in which water is placed on an agar surface and a culture is allowed to grow. After sufficient time for the bacteria to multiply, the bacterial colonies are counted. Another way to identify bacteria in water is to use a virus to infect the bacteria with fluorescent reporter molecules which can be identified by fluorescence spectroscopy.
A new bacterial detection method that has the potential for a wide range of applications is a sensor coated with bacterial antibodies passed through it with an electric current. When this sensor comes into contact with bacteria, the sensor detects changes in frequency that indicate bacterial presence. This technology has been used to improve the detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in meat processing plants and to detect microcystin-LR toxin (MC-LR) in drinking water. This technology detects bacteria in minutes, while the older culture method takes hours or days.
PCR is a molecular bacterial identification technique that has several advantages over other bacterial detection methods. Some estimates state that more than 99 percent of all bacteria in the human body cannot be cultured, making traditional techniques unsuitable for many applications. PCR can very quickly detect small amounts of bacteria using RNA and DNA amplification techniques.
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