Radioactivity measurements for determining bacterial increase and sensibility to antibiotics

The authors elaborated a sensitive and objective measuring method for determining the bacteria increase in biological material and the sensibility to antibiotics. When 14C glucose is added to the medium as the single source of sugar, the respiratory carbon dioxide formed by the bacteria reflects the rate of increase. The released 14C dioxide can be measured continuously without loss to the environment and the degree of bacterial infection and the antibiotic activity, respectively, can be determined. (author)