Ready for The Count? Back-To-Basics Review Of Microbial Colony Counting

Microbiological laboratories remain reliant on the accurate determination of the number of colony forming units (CFUs) on growth media; this is notwithstanding advances with rapid microbiological methods, at least for some applications. Mainstay methods include pour plates, spread plates, and membrane filtration. Counting of microbes is important as it enables a laboratory to estimate the microbial population in a variety of products (bioburden). Yet there are limitations with plate count methods, including the fact that they only count viable cells and culturable organisms.

Tim Sandle looks at the issue of colony counting from a new perspective, including limitations with the human eye, and with how data integrity can be improved.

The reference is:

Sandle, T. (2020) Ready for The Count? Back-To-Basics Review Of Microbial Colony Counting, Journal of GxP Compliance, 24 (1) : http://www.ivtnetwork.com/article/ready-count-back-basics-review-microbial-colony-counting

For details, please contact Tim Sandle

Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle, Pharmaceutical Microbiology Resources (http://www.pharmamicroresources.com/)