METHOD FOR DETECTING MICRO-ORGANISMS IN GASES

摘要

The invention relates to a method for rapidly detecting micro-organisms in gases, especially air, and to gelatin membrane filters for carrying out the method. The inventive gelatin membrane filters are characterised by their particular purity. The gas is passed through a gelatin membrane filter in order to collect the micro-organisms, said filter being free of particles with a diameter of more than 0.45 mu m, preferably 0.1 mu m. The gelatin membrane filter with the collected micro-organisms is then dissolved in an aqueous solution containing an enzymatic marking agent which causes fluorescence when in contact with the micro-organisms. The resulting solution, with the micro-organisms, is filtered through an analysis membrane, said membrane having a pore size of 0.2 to approximately 0.45 mu m, and the fluorescent micro-organisms which are left behind on the analysis membrane are counted. The invention is suitable for use in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological and food industries, in the fields of environmental protection and waste management and in medical devices for determining the bacterial count of the particular media.