title: The stability of micro-organisms preserved in LENTICULE discs, demonstrated by repeat sample distributions of the EQUAL Scheme for Indicator Organisms (water microbiology).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To demonstrate the stability of microorganisms preserved in LENTICULE discs, employed by the EQUAL Scheme for Indicator Organisms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five sample batches containing several indicator organism parameters were each despatched in two separate distributions at intervals of up to 24 months apart. A comparison of participants' median counts and bar charts of their cumulated results was then made.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrated that LENTICULE discs provided a remarkably stable preparation format for the maintenance of viable organisms in reproducible numbers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complex mixtures of organisms can be maintained in stable numbers for extended periods of time at a freezer temperature of -20 degrees C and satisfactorily transported without the requirement for cold chain conditions.
authors.affiliation: Health Protection Agency, Newcastle Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. peter.boyd@hpa.org.uk
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Magee
mesh_terms: D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000502:physiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000502:physiology; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology; D005615:Freezing; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology; D011786:Quality Control; D014871:Water Microbiology