A BIOLUMINESCENCE BASED TEST FOR ASSIMILABLE ORGANIC CARBON

摘要

The present invention provides a method of determining the concentration of assimilable organic carbon (AOC) in saline water including inactivating the sample, inoculating the sample with a bacterium, incubating said sample at a controlled temperature, using a plate reader to measure bioluminescence and using the bioluminescence reading to determine the concentration of assimilable organic carbon in the sample. Assays using either the bioluminescent marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri MJ-1 or Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis with adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) are exemplified.