| abstract |
The present invention relates to a method for detecting the presence of respiring microorganisms in a fluid. The method will consist of the following steps: (i) placement of said fluid in a container in which said fluid is substantially isolated from atmospheric oxygen. A sensor will then be placed within said container, but not in direct contact with said fluid, which sensor composition will consist of fluorescent compounds that exhibits a reduction in fluorescent intensity when irradiated with light containing wavelengths; (ii) irradiating said sensor composition with light containing wavelengths will cause said fluorescent compound to fluoresce; (iii) measuring or visually observing the fluorescent light intensity from said fluorescent compound while irradiating said sensor compound with said light; (iv) comparing said measurement to that of a control not containing a respiring microorganism, wherein said control is selected from the group consisting of: a reagent control not in contact with respiring microorganisms and a calculated threshold, wherein change in fluorescent intensity relative to the fluorescent intensity of the control is indicative of the presence of respiring microorganisms; and (v) in the event that no such increase is measured or observed, repeat steps (ii), (iii) and (iv) as needed, to detect the presence of respiring microorganisms in said fluid. |