A Comparison of Lead, Bismuth, and Iron as Detectors of Hydrogen Sulphide Produced by Bacteria

Abstract

Several methods have been used to detect hydrogen sulphide produced by bacteria. Filter papers impregnated with lead carbonate or lead acetate have been utilized ever since Gayon (1877) demonstrated the formation of hydrogen sulphide from albuminous material by bacterial action, and Schardinger (1894) applied the test to the sanitary examination of water. Sasaki and Otsuka (1912), and Tanner (1917) treated the lead acetate papers with glycerol. The addition of lead acetate or lead car- bonate to the nutrient media has been especially advocated by Kligler (1917), Jordan and Victorson (1917), Thompson (1921), Bailey and Lacy (1927), and others. Wilson (1923) proposed the use of ferric chloride media to detect sulphides. After trying nickel, iron, lead, and manganese salts Levine and coworkers (1932) concluded that ferric citrate was one of the best indicators. Pacheco and Mello (1932) recommended bismuth carbonate agar which they found to be more sensitive and less toxic than iron or lead media. Because difficulty has been encountered in testing a large num- ber of recently isolated bacteria for their hydrogen sulphide pro- ducing properties as an aid in characterizing them for identifica- tion, and because the Committee on the Pure Culture Study of Bacteria (1933) is not ready to recommend any one method for such determination the following studies were undertaken.