improved precision

High precision in an analytical technique requires the ability to account for background noise. In ATP analyses, ATP contained outside of the living population is considered a background noise. This is referred to as 'extra-cellular' ATP, and results from stressful or lethal situations encountered by biomass where cell walls rupture or leak ATP into the external environment.

In conventional ATP products, extracellular ATP is assayed by adding the sample to a luciferase reagent with no pretreatment. Sometimes, the sample is filtered prior to the extracellular ATP analysis.

LuminUltra™ has discovered that conventional ATP measurement techniques can significantly underestimate the true quantity of extracellular ATP. A large fraction of extracellular ATP often exists in complexes with inert substances contained in the sample. LuminUltra's double-action LumiSolve™ buffer re-solubilizes complexed ATP and stabilizes the ATP to obtain a true indication of extracellular ATP concentration.

Because LuminUltra's technology accurately measures both total and extracellular ATP, it also provides an accurate measurement of intra-cellular ATP (total ATP minus extracellular ATP). Furthermore, accurate measurement of total and extracellular ATP permitted the breakthrough discovery that when microorganisms are placed in a stressful environment, and ATP release occurs, even when the stress is not lethal to the entire population. This observation lead to the development of the Biomass Stress Index (BSI™), defined as the ratio of extracellular ATP to total ATP.

The importance of accurate extracellular ATP measurement therefore allows LuminUltra to provide its customers with two critical control parameters:

1. Intra-cellular ATP (cATPT), which allows operators to more accurately assess contamination and biocide effectiveness in MGC applications and detect emerging growth sooner, and in wastewater treatment applications provides a replacement for the typical solids-based measurements for estimating total biomass concentration.
2. The Biomass Stress Index (BSI), which allows operators utilizing biocides in water treatment applications to locate areas of ineffective treatment or optimize slug-feed processes, and in wastewater systems understand the severity and source of stresses.