Techniques in Measuring Microbial Growth

Instruction: This activity is by group. Provide the necessary information in the table.

METHODS MECHANISM OF COMMENTS REFERENCES

ACTION

Colonies counting Plating technique Plate counting is a method of

counting viable cells. The
number of colonies on the
plate is used as a measure of
cell number.
Singh, P. (2021, May 2). Methods for
Measuring
This method is used in two
Bacterial Growth. Retrieved from
different ways such as:
BiokiMicroki: https://biokimicroki.com/
methods-for-measuringbacterial-
The spread plate is a
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technique for isolating and
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counting microorganisms that
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involve spreading the inoculum
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with a spreader. In
comparison, a Pour plate is a
technique for isolating and
counting microbes that
involves
 pouring molten and cooled nutritional
media into an inoculum.

The main disadvantage of this

method when evaluating a significant
number of samples is that it is
timeconsuming, labor intensive, and
expensive.

Filtration During membrane filtration, a Membrane filtration is used when the

portion of the fluid called
permeate (filtrate) flows through
the membrane, while other
components are ejected and
clutched in the retentate
(concentrate) steam.
number of bacteria in a water sample
(lake or relatively clean stream) is
very low. Thin membrane filters,
porous sheet-like structures made of
cellulose esters, or similar polymer
materials are used.
This method filters samples and uses
an Endo Agar plate, then incubates
to measure bacterial growth.
The disadvantages of this method
are that the membrane and glass
filters are fragile and expensive to
repair, only the liquid is sterilized,
and turbid water cannot be used. It
can also lead to blockages that
require high differential pressure.
Pakpour, N., & Horgan,
S. (2021, March 20). Lab
8: Membrane filtration.
Retrieved from
https://bio.libretexts.org/L
earning_Objects/Laborat
ory_Experiments/Microbi
ology_Labs/Book%3A_G
eneral_Microbiology_Lab
_Manual_(Pakpour_and_
Horgan)/Lab_08%3A_Me
mbrane_Filtration
Microscopic count Dyeing or staining the cell with Singh, P. (2021).
Trypan Blue stain. Methods for Measuring
A direct counting method using ng Bacterial Growth.
hemocytometer that measured the Retrieved from,
volume of a bacterial suspension by https://biokimicroki.com/
creating a volumetric grid divided into methods-for-
differently sized cubes for accurately measuringbacterial-
counting the total number of particles growth/
in each cube and total all the number
of cells present in the Aryal, S. (2019). Direct
hemocytometer Microscopic Counts.
The disadvantage of this method is Retrieved from
https://microbenotes.com /
that it is not always able to
distinguish between the live and direct-microscopiccounts/
dead cells. Also, this method has
difficulty in counting Motile bacteria.
And this requires a high
concentration of bacteria
Coulter counter Used voltage and electricity to This method was developed by Singh, P. (2021).
determine the cell count. Wallace H. Coulter, where it Methods for Measuring
measures any particulate material ng Bacterial Growth.
that can be suspended in an Retrieved from,
electrolyte solution. When the cells https://biokimicroki.com/
are suspended in a low methods-for-
concentration solution, the cells pass measuringbacterial-
through the orifice. An orifice is a growth/
small opening separated by two
electrodes that generate resistance. Parimi, R. (2020). Do
The resistance that is produced is you Know How a Coulter
directly proportional to the cell's Counter Works?.
volume. The movement of the cell Retrieved from,
 https://bitesizebio.com/48

through the orifice produces 384/coulter-counter works/?

-
resistance plotted against time fbclid=IwAR3V_u
and looks like spikes. This MTDjJCulrlLckDYO3tPI9
number of spikes is equal to the JhzAKOOlGQxhY0fe10V
number of cells or particles as pyiL5odnm79I8
known by the amplitude of the
spike.

This method counts particles of

any size in solution, resulting in
inaccurate cell count
measurements in solution.
Similar to the microscopic
counting method, this method
cannot distinguish between live
and dead cells, nor between dust
and bacteria which is a major
disadvantage for this method of
measuring microbial growth.

Turbidity Absorbing some light while Turbidimetry is an indirect
allowing the remainder to method for calculating cell mass.
pass through. It is about the cloudiness or
haziness of liquid samples
The higher the cell concentration
is, the higher the turbidity.
Instrument used is a MwFJX2ENtzTpRxqUHH
spectrophotometer. The Turbidity
method is a more practical way
to monitor bacterial growth.
Pandey, A. (2020, December 15).
Measurements of Microbial Growth.
Retrieved from,
https://microbiologynotes
.org/measurements-
ofmicrobialgrowth/?fbclid=IwAR2tkR
ahSGDISXCr6hQM284lU
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Apparatus that is used in turbidity
technique is cheaper than others,
an absolute analysis of water is
given by this instrument without
any zero

error. Contamination of food can be

detected in this method.

Disadvantages of turbidity is it
cannot distinguish between live and
dead bacteria. It requires a high
concentration of bacteria (10 to 100
million cells/ml)
Metabolic activity Measure metabolic products.
Bacteria make certain products
as they proliferate in media:
● Carbon Dioxide
● Acids
Another method for calculating Metabolic activity. (n.d.).
bacterial populations is to use Retrieved from
determining the population's https://www.sciencedirect
metabolic activity (for instance, acid .com/topics/engineering/
generation or oxygen consumption, metabolic-activity
nutrient consumption utilization,
waste generation, pH, and so on).
The assumption is that the amount of
acid created or released is
proportional to the amount of acid
produced or released. Oxygen
consumed under certain
circumstances and during a given
event
The magnitude of a set period of
time is proportional to the magnitude
of the population of bacteria.
The measurement of acid, or any
other end product, is somewhat
difficult. Is an extremely oblique
method of measuring growth and
development. Is only applicable in
exceptional instances.
Biomass Direct combustion (burning) to Biomass is a renewable biological Biomass Explained
create heat is one of the ways resource that comes from plants and (2021, June 8).
biomass is turned to energy. animals. As a strategy to minimize Independent & statistic
carbon dioxide emissions from fossil Analysis. Retrieved from
fuel usage, several developed https://www.eia.gov/ener
countries are increasing their use of gyexplained/biomass/
biomass fuels for transportation and
power generation.

The most prevalent technique for

converting biomass to reusable
energy is direct burning. All biomass
may be burned directly to heat
buildings and water, as well as to
provide heat for industrial processes
and generate power in steam
turbines.

Biomass has the benefit of being

less expensive than fossil fuels, but
the downside is that they are not as
efficient as processed fossil fuels
such as petroleum and gasoline.