Microcalorimetric growth behavior of E. coli ATCC 25922 in an MCDSC

Isothermal microcalorimetry can provide a general analytical tool for the characterization of bacterial growth. Methodologies and equipment have been studied to expand the application and disseminate the use of the technique. The MCDSC is a microcalorimeter capable of measuring in the range of 0.2 mu W that can operate at a temperature range of-20 to 140 degrees C or under isothermal conditions. Here, we present the first investigation of MCDSC for E. coli growth with the Baranyi and Roberts modeling application. This study presented the calori-metric E. coli fingerprint at MCDSC and compares it with the plate count technique, giving the data more bio-logical meaning. The calorimeter was able to accurately detect growth metabolism and discriminate E. coli at different inoculum densities. Additionally, the MCDSC can offer a new point of view for evaluating microbial growth, such as the significant reduction in error due to dispersed data by the viable counting method.