HYDROXYAPATITE ADHERENCE AS A MEANS TO CONCENTRATE BACTERIA

Adherence to hydroxyapatite (HA) was examined as a method to concentra te bacteria from foods. Using HA at a level of 10% and suspensions of an Escherichia coli strain containing 10(9), 10(6), and 10(3) cells pe r mi, kinetic studies revealed that maximum adherence was attained wit hin 5 min for all cell concentrations and that comparable log reductio ns (1.0 to 1.5) of cells in suspension were seen regardless of initial cell concentration. Eleven species of spoilage and pathogenic bacteri a were found to adhere to HA, with seven species adhering at proportio ns of greater than 95%. Fluorescent viability staining revealed that c ells bound to HA remained viable. There was greater than 92% adherence of indigenous bacteria to HA from three of five 1:10 dilutions of gro und beef, indicating promise for the use of HA for concentrating bacte ria from meat and other food samples.