Procedure:
1. Nutrient broth medium inoculated with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and incubated at 37C for 24 hours, “starting cultures”.
2. A standard plate count procedure performed using 24 hour cultures of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Cultures diluted (10-1, 10-2…10-8) in 0.75% saline solution, plated on nutrient agar medium and incubated at 37C for 24 hours. The number of colony forming units (CFU’s) determined and the starting culture bacterial concentration
determined.
3. In conjunction with the dilution procedure, 0.1 ml of each diluted bacteria suspension was then applied to a standard microscope slide and allowed to air dry. A Protein test strip pressed onto the air-dried bacteria suspension was then applied to determine the presence of protein.
Results:
The Protein test strips were able to detect 1.0 x 10^6 bacteria per ml.