ESTIMATING PRESENCE OF MICROORGANISMS BY ESTIMATING ADENYLATE KINASE LEVELS BY ITS ABILITY TO CONVERT ADP TO ATP

摘要

A method for determining the presence and/or amount of microorganisms and/or their intracellular material present in a sample comrpising estimating the amount of adenylate kinase therein by its ability to convert adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and relating that to the presence/or amount of organism and/or intracellular material. The method provides improved sensitivity over existing luciferase/luciferin assays. Reagents including purified ADP and adenyl kinase free luciferase are provided together with test kits including these and apparatus for automated operation of the method.