Bioluminescence assay for estimating the hydrophobic properties of bacteria as revealed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography

Abstract

The luciferin-luciferase bioluminescence method was used to estimate the number of bacteria retained in neutral and amphiphilic gels and those in the eluate to determine the hydrophobic surface properties of bacteria by using hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Good correlations were found between viable counts and ATP content for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fragi, and Listeria monocytogenes. ATP determination was more rapid than viable counts for characterizing the relative hydrophobicity of L. monocytogenes. Quantitative estimations of adsorption of L. monocytogenes on octyl-Sepharose indicate that this microorganism is hydrophilic.