title: Rapid assay for pathogenic Salmonella organisms by immunofluorescence flow cytometry.
abstract: Multi-parameter flow cytometry was investigated for the rapid detection of specific serotypes of salmonellas (S. typhimurium and S. montevideo) labelled with fluorescent monoclonal antibodies, both in pure culture and in a typical food matrix (full-fat milk). In all cases, the method was accurate to levels of below 10(4) target cells per ml for a total assay time of about 30 min. After 6 h non-selective enrichment in the presence of a 10,000-fold excess of competing micro-organisms (Escherichia coli) the corresponding detection limit was about 20 cells ml-1. These results suggest that flow cytometry has significant potential for the detection of pathogenic micro-organisms in the food industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Biophysics, Norwich Laboratory, U.K.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pinder
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: McClelland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology; D012475:Salmonella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal