BIOSYSTEMS Publications

Publications in International Journals / Series (Conference Paper (International))

Polyhydroxyalkanoate granules quantification in mixed microbial cultures using image analysis: Sudan Black B versus Nile Blue A staining

Mesquita, Daniela P.; Amaral, A. Luís; Leal, Cristiano S.; Oehmen, A.; Reis, M.A.; Ferreira, Eugénio C.

Analytica Chimica Acta, 865, 8-15, 2015

Publisher: Elsevier

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be produced and intracellularly accumulated as inclusions by mixed microbial cultures (MMC) for bioplastic production and in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. Classical methods for PHA quantification use a digestion step prior to chromatography analysis, rendering them labor intensive and time-consuming. The present work investigates the use of two quantitative image analysis (QIA) procedures specifically developed for PHA inclusions identification and quantification. MMC obtained from an EBPR system were visualized by bright-field and fluor ...