Rapid analysis of bacterial contamination of tap water using isothermal calorimetry

Highly sensitive calorimetry was evaluated for its potential for the monitoring of the bacterial contamination of drinking water. For that purpose, water samples were added to different media and bacterial growth was followed microcalorimetrically. Drinking water samples were either tested untreated or after artificial contamination with selected bacterial strains. Two bacteria, two growth media and two growth conditions (i.e. aerobic and anaerobic) were applied. Even minor initial bacterial contamination (1–100 cells mL−1) gave rise to calorimetric signals after 5–17 h growth. Calorimetry was thus faster than detection of bacterial contamination by plating on agar and inspection of colony formation, which was performed for comparison. It was further demonstrated theoretically that calorimetric detection is superior to colony detection. The heat production curves were characteristic for the strain, the medium and the growth conditions. It is hypothesized that a further refinement of the microcalorimetric method via the application of sets of specific media in combination with selective growth conditions should allow delimiting the identity of the contaminant.

[1]  L. Hansen,et al.  Use of calorespirometric ratios, heat per CO2 and heat per O2, to quantify metabolic paths and energetics of growing cells , 2004 .

[2]  W. J. Russell,et al.  Bacterial Identification by Microcalorimetry , 1973, Nature.

[3]  Juliane Steingroewer,et al.  Biomagnetic separation of Salmonella Typhimurium with high affine and specific ligand peptides isolated by phage display technique , 2007 .

[4]  J. Heijnen,et al.  In search of a thermodynamic description of biomass yields for the chemotrophic growth of microorganisms , 1992, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[5]  B. Hovelius,et al.  Microcalorimetry as a tool for evaluation of blood culture media , 1977, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[6]  Y. Lévi,et al.  An ATP-based method for monitoring the microbiological drinking water quality in a distribution network. , 2003, Water research.

[7]  I. Marison,et al.  Thermodynamics of microbial growth and metabolism: an analysis of the current situation. , 2006, Journal of biotechnology.

[8]  L. Gustafsson,et al.  Thermodynamic considerations in constructing energy balances for cellular growth , 1993 .

[9]  K F Reardon,et al.  Modeling substrate interactions during the biodegradation of mixtures of toluene and phenol by Burkholderia species JS150. , 2000, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[10]  U. Stockar,et al.  Can microbial growth yield be estimated using simple thermodynamic analogies to technical processes , 2008 .

[11]  J. Block,et al.  Nucleic acid fluorochromes and flow cytometry prove useful in assessing the effect of chlorination on drinking water bacteria. , 2005, Water research.

[12]  E. Gnaiger,et al.  Anaerobic metabolism in aerobic mammalian cells: information from the ratio of calorimetric heat flux and respirometric oxygen flux. , 1990, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[13]  L. Wadsö,et al.  Biological applications of a new isothermal calorimeter that simultaneously measures at four temperatures , 2011 .

[14]  J. Heijnen,et al.  Bioenergetics of Microbial Growth , 2010 .

[15]  W. Deng,et al.  XV. The relation of oxygen to the heat of combustion of organic compounds , 1917 .

[16]  J. Roels Application of macroscopic principles to microbial metabolism. , 1980, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[17]  G. Klinzing,et al.  Competition for mixed substrates by microbial populations , 1977, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[18]  LavoisierMM.,et al.  Mémoire sur la chaleur , 1921 .

[19]  Frederik Hammes,et al.  Rapid and direct estimation of active biomass on granular activated carbon through adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) determination. , 2007, Water research.

[20]  U. Stockar Biothermodynamics of live cells: a tool for biotechnology and biochemical engineering , 2010 .

[21]  T. Bley,et al.  Einsatz der biomagnetischen Separation zur mikrobiologischen Qualitätskontrolle von Lebensmitteln , 2005 .

[22]  J. Oliver,et al.  Recent findings on the viable but nonculturable state in pathogenic bacteria. , 2010, FEMS microbiology reviews.

[23]  D. C. Mosteller,et al.  Biodegradation kinetics of benzene, toluene, and phenol as single and mixed substrates for Pseudomonas putida F1. , 2000, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[24]  O. Köster,et al.  Flow-cytometric total bacterial cell counts as a descriptive microbiological parameter for drinking water treatment processes. , 2008, Water research.

[25]  A. U. Daniels,et al.  Microcalorimetry: a novel method for detection of microbial contamination in platelet products , 2007, Transfusion.

[26]  G. Bratbak,et al.  Bacterial dry matter content and biomass estimations , 1984, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[27]  Olivier Braissant,et al.  Use of isothermal microcalorimetry to monitor microbial activities. , 2010, FEMS microbiology letters.

[28]  T. Bott,et al.  Development of a Rapid Assimilable Organic Carbon Method for Water , 1993, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[29]  P. Gibbs,et al.  Improved methods for the enumeration of heterotrophic bacteria in bottled mineral waters. , 2001, Journal of microbiological methods.

[30]  R. Gourse,et al.  Relationship between Growth Rate and ATP Concentration in Escherichia coli , 2004, Journal of Biological Chemistry.

[31]  Elke Boschke,et al.  A Rapid Method for the Pre‐Enrichment and Detection of Salmonella Typhimurium by Immunomagnetic Separation and Subsequent Fluorescence Microscopical Techniques , 2005 .

[32]  F. Bergter,et al.  Bestimmung der Trockenmasse von Zellsuspensionen durch Extinktionsmessungen , 1971 .

[33]  P. Mary,et al.  Total counts, culturable and viable, and non‐culturable microflora of a French mineral water: a case study , 1999, Journal of applied microbiology.

[34]  Wen Zhang,et al.  A DNA sequence-specific electrochemical biosensor based on alginic acid-coated cobalt magnetic beads for the detection of E. coli. , 2011, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[35]  Johannes Lerchner,et al.  Potentials and limitations of miniaturized calorimeters for bioprocess monitoring , 2011, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[36]  G. Bratbak,et al.  Bacterial Biovolume and Biomass Estimations , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[37]  I. Wadsö Isothermal microcalorimetry in applied biology , 2002 .

[38]  F. Bergter,et al.  [Determination of the dry mass of cell suspensions by means of extinction measurements]. , 1971, Zeitschrift fur allgemeine Mikrobiologie.

[39]  J. Cordier,et al.  The relationship between elemental composition and heat of combustion of microbial biomass , 2004, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[40]  U. Stockar,et al.  A comparison of various Gibbs energy dissipation correlations for predicting microbial growth yields , 2007 .

[41]  P. Mccarty,et al.  Thermodynamic electron equivalents model for bacterial yield prediction: Modifications and comparative evaluations , 2007, Biotechnology and bioengineering.