With the arrival of automated systems for microtiter (MT) plate assays, classical most probable number (MPN) techniques lend themselves to an efficient way to perform quantitative microbiological tests. In contrast to existing automated systems for quantitative determination of microorganisms there is no need for dedicated instruments. Standardized MT equipment available in modern biochemical laboratories, namely a pipetting robot using sterile pipetting tips and a MT reader under computer control are the only prerequisites. The distribution of the media and the samples with optional dilutions, the measurement of growth as well as the statistical calculations of the MPN value are performed automatically. A system was validated for the analysis of the aerobic mesophilic count (AC) of drinking water. The system can cope with low or high bacterial load from 0 to 2 x 10~4 colonies per mL. The system which takes out the tedium and personnel influence of routine microbiological work is prone to many other determinations like fecal indicator organisms in water as well as other microorganisms of interest in food microbiology.
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