A 24-h direct plating method for Escherichia coli using Peptone-Tergitol agar was used to compare the effectiveness of the chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-glucuronide (X-GLUC) with the fluorogenic substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucuronide (MUG) for β-glucuronidase activity. Values obtained for enumeration of two strains of E. coli recovered from artificially inoculated raw minced chicken (i.e., plating efficiencies on the inoculum, cells per g, and recovery percentages elated to those on Plate Count Agar) indicate that X-GLUC at 50 μg/ml was as effective as MUG in an agar medium. Unlike MUG, X-GLUC does not require ultraviolet light illumination, and the color reaction produced remains localized in the positive colonies.

Medical devices that are sterilized with ethylene oxide (EtO) retain small quantities of EtO residuals, which may cause negative systemic and local irritating effects, and must be accurately quantified to ensure non-toxicity. The goal of this round-robin study is to investigate the capability of a novel solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatographic (SPME-GC) method for trace-level EtO residuals analysis: three independent laboratories conducted a guided experiment using this SPME-GC method, in assessing method performance, ruggedness and the feasibility of SPME fibers. These were satisfactory across the independent laboratories, at the 0.05-5.00 ppm EtO range. This method was then successfully applied to analyze EtO residuals in several sterilized/aerated medical devices of various polymeric composition, reliably detecting and quantifying the trace levels of EtO residuals present ( approximately 0.05 ppm EtO). SPME is a feasible alternative for quantifying trace-level EtO residuals in sterilized medical devices, thereby lowering the limit of quantification (LOQ) by as much as two to three orders of magnitude over the current GC methodology of direct liquid injection.

Peptone tergitol glucuronide (PTG) agar containing 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D glucuronide (MUG) (for β-glucuronidase activity), the Holbrook, Anderson, Baird-Parker (HABP) method (for detecting indole production), and the standard 3-tube most probable number (MPN) method were compared with plate count agar (PCA) for enumerating three strains of unstressed Escherichia coli artificially inoculated into ground beef and chicken at 1–6 × 106 cells/g. No significant difference (P>0.05) was determined between PTG agar and PCA in the recovery of E. coli. The MPN method enumerated a significantly greater (P<0.05) number of E. coli cells than PCA. Compared with PCA, the HABP method recovered a significantly lower (P<0.05) number of E. coli cells from chicken, whereas no significant difference (P>0.05) was obtained with ground beef. When combining all data from chicken and beef, the recovery of E. coli cells by the HABP method was also significantly lower (P<0.05). Overall, based on the enumeration of E. coli on PCA, the HABP method, PTG agar, and MPN method recovered 57, 102, and 144%, respectively.