Use of the BacTiter-Glo™ Microbial Cell Viability Assay to Study Bacterial Attachment in Biofilm Formation

Preeti Sule1, Tanush Wadhawan1, Alan J. Wolfe2, and Birgit M. Prüß1
1North Dakota State University, 2Loyola University Chicago
Publication Date: 2008

Abstract

Biofilms are complex, sessile communities of bacteria that form on solid surfaces or at air-liquid interfaces. The formation of such biofilms follows a path of controlled steps, the first being attachment to the surface. To rigorously study the physiological changes that allow the bacteria to perform this first step, a quantitative assay that accurately determines the biomass of surface-attached bacteria is required. Here, we describe the use of the BacTiter-Glo™ Microbial Cell Viability Assay to measure biofilm attachment. This 96-well-format assay monitors intracellular ATP concentrations. Since bacterial cells maintain a relatively constant intracellular ATP concentration, this assay provides a reproducible relative measure of attached cells.

Promega Notes 99, 19–21.