Rapid Flow Cytometric Detection and Identification of Microbial Particles

摘要

There is a continuing need to be able to effect the rapid estimation of themicrobial load in a sample, particularly when the presence of pathogenic organisms is suspected, and the background consists of complex, often non-biological particulates and other, non-pathogenic biomaterials. We have developed a cocktail of multiple, selective stains that enable us broadly to distinguish these different types of particles. We have stained representative microorganisms, alone and in mixtures, and analysed them by flow cytometry. We show that multiparametric flow cytometry, in combination with multivariate data analysis techniques, enables rapid and semi-automated detection and identification of a target organism.