METHOD FOR QUANTIFYING LIVING COLIFORM MICROORGANISMS IN A WATER SAMPLE

摘要

The invention concerns a method for rapidly quantifying living coliform microorganisms in a water sample which consists in contacting the microorganisms with a fluorogenic substrate which is hydrolyzed in methylumbelliferone by an enzyme released by the microorganisms. The methylumbelliferone is detected by the fluorescence it emits, the speed of variation of said fluorescence being measured so as to determine the concentration of coliform microorganisms in the original sample based on the calculated speed of variation and on a correlation scheme. Typically, the method consists in carrying out a preliminary step of treating, in particular by pre-filtering, the sample to remove at least part of the particles suspended in the water, thereby allowing a quantification quite comparable to that of the method normalized by microplate. The invention is applicable to swimming water for detecting Escherichia Coli.