Sample preparation of microbial contaminants in water

Abstract

A proper assessment of microbial water quality is necessary to give early warning of disease outbreak and protect public health. Conventional methods of analysis typically require the culturing of indicator microbes, but inherent problems exist, such as lengthy time of analysis and the inability to detect nonculturable species. Alternative methods exist (e.g., molecular and optical methods), which are faster but require adequate sampling preparation techniques. This chapter discusses some of the more common techniques used including filtration, centrifugation, and immunomagnetic separation as preconcentration techniques, the use of propidium monoazide and ethidium monoazide for preparing samples for analysis with molecular tools (e.g., polymerase chain reaction), and sample preservation/treatment for long-term storage. These methods are applied to the analysis of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoans, and toxic algae (including their toxins). © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.