A rapid method for the assessment of the inhibition and kill of anaerobic bacteria by toxic compounds

摘要

A method of determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of an antimicrobial agent in an anaerobe contaminated aqueous system comprising the steps of: a) obtaining a sample of said contaminated aqueous system; b) adding a pH indicator dye to said sample which reacts with environmental changes caused by carbohydrate metabolites of said anaerobes; c) adding nutrient to said sample to form a dye treated nutrient aqueous system; d) obtaining aliquots of the dye treated nutrient aqueous system; e) performing multiple serial dilutions of an antimicrobial agent to be tested and forming mixtures of said aliquots of the dye treated nutrient aqueous system with each of the said serial dilutions; f) incubating said mixtures anaerobically at a temperature essentially equivalent to the temperature of the contaminated aqueous system for a period of time sufficient to develop the change in the dye colour by the reaction of the dye with said environmental changes caused by carbohydrate metabolites; and g) determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of antimicrobial agent that inhibits anaerobes contained in said contaminated aqueous system by observing a change in colour.