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Use of firefly luciferase to assay adenosine triphosphate (ATP) extracted from microorganisms provides an easy means to enumerate microbes within minutes. The small amount of light produced is proportional to ATP and thus microbial number. The average bacterium contains around 10(-15) g ATP per cell. Present reagents permit detection of 10(3) cells per tube. Luminometers currently on the market detect about 10(-12) g ATP. Proper extraction of ATP from the microbes is an essential part of any protocol, as is the removal of non-microbial ATP from, for example, somatic cells also present in samples. The technique may be applied to a wide range of samples, for example food and beverages and clinical samples such as urine. The ATP assay gives a global measure of microbial numbers, i.e. it is not species specific unless a species separation step is included in the protocol.

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This survey was compiled in January and February 1992 from information available in public domain literature requested by and supplied to the author by numerous companies in the previous two months. More than 90 luminometers (manual, automatic, microtitre plate, HPLC, LC, GLC, imaging and specials) from more than 60 companies are included. Each company was invited to supply company brochures, technical details, user manual and information about software and any other information concerning their product(s). The response varied from a single information sheet to promotional material and up to full product information and specification with technical details, user manuals and scientific publications. Where an instrument is dedicated to a single task the company may have only provided details relevant to accomplishing that task. Part 2 of this survey will contain photographs of some of the luminometers. It is intended that updates to this review will be published at least annually in this journal and suppliers are invited to provide full technical details of new luminometric equipment to the author.

No abstract