title: Standardised evaluation of the performance of a simple membrane filtration-elution method to concentrate bacteriophages from drinking water.
abstract: The bacteriophage elution procedure described further after adsorption to acetate-nitrate cellulose membrane filters allows better recovery of phages concentrated from 1l of water than elution procedures used previously. The improvement is due to the combined effect of the eluent (3% (w/v) beef extract, 3% (v/v) Tween 80, 0.5M NaCl, pH 9.0) and the application of ultrasound instead of agitation or swirling. Average recovery of somatic coliphages, 82 +/- 7%, was the greatest, and that of phages infecting Bacteroides fragilis, 56 +/- 8%, the lowest, with intermediate values for F-specific and F-specific RNA bacteriophages. Thus, the method allowed recovery of over 56% for all the phages suggested as surrogate indicators. The method was then validated according to an International Standardisation Organisation validation standard procedure and implemented in routine laboratories, which obtained reproducible results.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología, Universidad de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Audicana
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isern
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llaneza
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: María Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tarancón
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jofre
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lucena
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003090:Coliphages / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D012996:Solutions; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D012996:Solutions