Patent ID: 6900030
Filing Date: 2005-05-31
Classification: C12Q,Y02A

Abstract:
1. A method for determining the presence or absence of respiring eukaryotic cells in a solution comprising: (i) contacting said solution with a sensor composition which comprises a luminescent compound that exhibits a change in luminescent property, when irradiated with light containing wavelengths which cause said compound to luminesce, upon exposure to oxygen, wherein the presence of the sensor composition is non-destructive to the eukaryotic cells; (ii) irradiating said sensor composition with light containing wavelengths which cause said luminescent compound to luminesce; (iii) measuring or visually observing the luminescent light intensity from said luminescent compound while irradiating said sensor compound with said light and obtaining a measurement of the luminescence at timed intervals; (iv) comparing said measurement to that of a control not containing respiring eukaryotic cells, wherein said control is selected from the group consisting of: a reagent control not in contact with respiring eukaryotic cells and a calculated threshold, wherein a change in luminescent property relative to the luminescent property of the control is indicative of the presence of respiring eukaryotic cells; and (v) in the event that no such change is measured or observed, repeating steps (ii), (iii), and (iv) to attempt to determine the presence or absence of respiring eukaryotic cells in said solution.