METHOD OF MEASURING ATP AND CONCENTRATING AND MEASURING UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS

摘要

A method of concentrating and measuring the amount of cells in a sample is described. A sample containing the plurality of cells is passed upwardly or laterally through a series of membrane filters and concentrated on the filter. The filter membrane containing the concentrated cell is then sequentially treated with lysing agent to release the adenosine triphosphate from the organism and a luminescent reagent to react with the released adenosine triphosphate. A luminescent response is thereby produced directly on the filter membrane and this luminescent response is measured with a luminometer. Not only does this method provide an accurate way of detecting very minute quantities of cells but it provides a relatively quick and easy method of concentrating and measuring cells in large volumes of biological or industrial samples which contain low levels of organisms. This method can also be used to identify and measure sources of adenosine triphosphate. Another aspect of the disclosed method is the utilization of a series of filters, each of which traps and concentrates cells of different size. For example, a sample containing a plurality of cell types can be passed through a series of filter membranes, with different pore size each of which allows passage of all but one unicellular organism, resulting in a concentration of different cells on different filter membranes. The filter membranes can then be processed and measured on the luminometer as described above.