Patent ID: 7824878

Claim:
A method for sensitive detection of ATP in a sample comprising the steps of: a) combining a sample to be tested with a solution to create a first admixture; b) admixing said first admixture with reagents to form a second admixture, said reagents comprising luciferin and recombinant luciferase, said second admixture comprising at least one buffer wherein a reaction caused by the admixing of said first admixture with said reagents to create said second admixture generates luminescence; and c) detecting said generated luminescence as an indication of the presence of ATP in said sample, wherein the ATP concentration of the second admixture is less than about 3.0 picomolar, and wherein a pH of the second admixture is a pH at which total generated luminescence is below a maximum level and is a pH at which a signal to noise ratio is maximized.