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Cross-flow microfiltration system for rapid enrichment of bacteria in water

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Abstract

Permanent monitoring of waterborne pathogens is important for securing the hygiene of water. Enumerating bacteria in water at low concentrations and minute quantities demands rapid and efficient enrichment methods in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of subsequent determination methods. In this work an automated cross-flow microfiltration (CFM) system is presented which is usable in the field to concentrate large volumes of environmental water for analytical purposes. It was designed as a rapid enrichment apparatus achieving high recovery and high concentration factors. The efficiency of the CFM system was studied for E. coli spiked in a 10-L tap water sample. By this technique, a 10-L water sample was concentrated by a factor of 200 in 15 min. The high and consistent recovery of 91.3 ± 5.4% living cells in the concentration range 0.01 and 100 cfu mL−1 is suitable for rapid enumeration of bacteria in water.

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the DFG for financial support of the project SE 1722/ 1- 1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrochemistry and Chair for Analytical Chemistry, Technische Universität München, Marchioninistrasse 17, 81377, Munich, Germany

    Caroline Peskoller, Reinhard Niessner & Michael Seidel

Authors
  1. Caroline Peskoller
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  2. Reinhard Niessner
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  3. Michael Seidel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Seidel.

Glossary

A

Membrane surface

CFL

Cross-flow filtration loop

CFM

Cross-flow microfiltration

FCM

Flow-cytometry measurements

J

Permeate flux

MPN

Most-probable number

TMP

Transmembrane pressure

P

Permeability

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Peskoller, C., Niessner, R. & Seidel, M. Cross-flow microfiltration system for rapid enrichment of bacteria in water. Anal Bioanal Chem 393, 399–404 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-008-2381-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-008-2381-5

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