Researchers use electrical signaling to detect bacteria
The researchers’ findings could lead to development of medical devices that can rapidly detect live bacterial cells in food and beverage applications.
Researchers at the University of Warwick, UK, found that bacteria can be detected in minutes by zapping it with electricity.
Scientists discovered healthy bacteria cells and those inhibited by antibiotics or UV light show different electric reactions. When zapped with an electrical field, live bacteria absorb dye molecules causing the cells to light up so they can be counted. Bacillus subtilis and E. coli were used as model organisms.