Microbiological quality assurance : a guide towards relevance and reproducibility of inocula

Content: Growth Conditions Influence of the Environment on the Properties of Vegetative Microorganisms: An Overview, M.R.W. Brown and P. Gilbert Introduction Phenotypic Flexibility Growth Rate and Nutrient Deprivation Growth as Adherent Biofilms Solid or Liquid Culture for Conventional Susceptibility Testing Conclusions References Definition of Phenotype in Batch Culture, M.R.W. Brown, P.J. Collier, R. Courcol, and P. Gilbert Introduction Specific Nutrient Depletion in Batch Culture Defined Nutrient-Depleted Media References Changes in Bacterial Cell Properties in Going from Exponential Growth to Stationary Phase, M.M. Zambrano and R. Kolter Introduction Changes to Result from Starvation Regulation of Gene Expression in Stationary Phase Population Changes during Starvation Acknowledgments References Continuous Culture of Microorganisms in Liquid Media: Effects of Growth Rate and Nutrient Limitation, P. Gilbert and M.R.W. Brown Introduction Continuous Culture: Theoretical Considerations Continuous Culture: Practical Considerations Modulation of Antimicrobial Susceptibility in Continuous Culture References The Influence of Nutrient Environment during Vegetative Growth on the Properties of Bacterial Endospores, P. Gilbert, M.R.W. Brown, I.S.I. Al-Adham, and N. Hodges Introduction Sporulation Medium and Definition of Spore Phenotype Sporulation Temperature Growth and Sporulation at Various pH Culture Age Prior to Harvesting References Influence of the Environment on the Properties of Microorganisms Grown in Association with Surfaces, P. Gilbert, A.E. Hodgson, and M.R.W. Brown Introduction Surface Colonization and Growth Resistance Properties of Bacterial Biofilms Influence of Surface Attachment and Growth upon Microbial Activity In Vitro Models of Biofilms Conclusions References Sources of Biological Variation and Lack of Inoculum Reproducibility: A Summary, M.R.W. Brown, S.F. Bloomfield, and P. Gilbert Culture Origins Growth Conditions of the Inoculum Dormancy Post-Growth Handling Procedures Procedure/Test Conditions Post-Growth Conditions The Preservation of Inocula, G. Adams Introduction Preservation by Cooling Factors Affecting Survival Freeze-Preservation in Practice Freeze-Drying Factors Affecting the Survival of Freeze-Dried Microorganisms Lyophilization Damage and Storage Conditions Changes in the Characteristics of Freeze-Dried Inocula Alternatives to Vacuum Freeze-Drying Culture Collection Practice References Influence of Post-Growth Procedures on the Properties of Microorganisms, P. Gilbert, P.J. Collier, J. Andrews, M.R.W. Brown Introduction Pretreatment Objectives Methods of Harvesting Cultured Bacteria Washing and Resuspension of Harvested Cells References Applications Factors Affecting the Reproducibility and Predictivity of Performance Tests, P. Gilbert and M.R.W. Brown Introduction Reproducibility and Predictivity of Inocula Grown in Batch Culture Reproducibility and Predictivity of Inocula Grown in Continuous Culture Solid versus Liquid Culture Biofilms or Planktonic Inocula References Preservative Efficacy Testing in the Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Industries, R. Baird Development of Testing Methods Test Method Limitations Test Method Modifications Factors Causing Test Variability Overview References Preservative Efficacy Testing in the Cosmetics and Toiletries Industries, B. Perry Introduction European Community Cosmetics Directive Preservation Preparation of Inocula Special Considerations Concluding Remarks Acknowledgments References Reproducibility and Predictivity of Disinfection and Biocide Tests, S.F. Bloomfield Introduction Repeatability and Reproducibility of Disinfectant Testing  Capacity Tests Relevance to Practice Application of Laboratory Tests for Approval of Disinfectants Appendix References Reproducibility and Performance of Endospores as Biological Indicators, N. Hodges Development and Current Status of Sterilization Indicators Selection of Organisms for Use as Sterilization Indicators Factors Affecting Biological Indicator Performance Spore Resistance Resulting from Environmental Influences during Sporulation and Harvesting Quick-Response Biological Indicators References Development and Production of Vaccines, A. Robinson, H.S. Tranter, C.N. Wiblin, and P. Hambleton Introduction Variation of Bacterial Composition Control of Vaccine Seed Stocks References Screening for Novel Antimicrobial Activity/Compounds in the Pharmaceutical Industry, P. Gilbert and M.R.W. Brown Introduction Screening Strategies Primary Screens In Vitro Models for Secondary Screening of Antibiotics References Screening for Novel Antimicrobial Compounds/Activity in the Environmental Protection Industries, H. Lappin-Scott, J. Jass, and W.J. Costerton Introduction The Industrial Processes Screening of Antimicrobials for Industry Test Methods Concluding Remarks References Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing within the Clinic, K. Thomson, J.S. Bakken, and C. Sanders Introduction The Inoculum Disc Diffusion Tests Dilution Tests Antibiotic Selection and  Reporting of Results Summary References