dSurvival of probiotic bacteria during drying is not trivial. Survival percentages are very specific for each probiotic strain and can be improved by careful selection of drying conditions and proper drying carrier formulation. An experimental approach is presented, comprising a single-droplet drying method and a subsequent novel screening methodology, to assess the microbial viability within single particles. The drying method involves the drying of a single droplet deposited on a flat, hydrophobic surface under well-defined drying conditions and carrier formulations. Semidried or dried particles were subjected to rehydration, fluorescence staining, and live/dead enumeration using fluorescence microscopy. The novel screening methodology provided accurate survival percentages in line with conventional plating enumeration and was evaluated in single-droplet drying experiments with Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 as a model probiotic strain. Parameters such as bulk air temperatures and the carrier matrices (glucose, trehalose, and maltodextrin DE 6) were varied. Following the experimental approach, the influence on the viability as a function of the drying history could be monitored. Finally, the applicability of the novel viability assessment was demonstrated for samples obtained from drying experiments at a larger scale. P robiotics are defined as "live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host" (11). Health benefits are usually related to the influence of probiotic bacteria on the microbial balance in the hosts' intestine or via modulation of the gut-associated immune system (6,12,19,21,25). Probiotics are delivered to the gastrointestinal tract as food products or dietary supplements and supplied on the market as fermented food commodities, freeze-dried cultures, or frozen cultures, which enhance their stability and facilitate their implementation in appropriate product formulations (1,16,30). Compared to freeze drying and freezing, spray drying could be an interesting alternative for providing shelf life to probiotic ingredients. Spray drying is more energy and cost efficient and can be operated continuously at higher production capacities (2, 26, 34). The major drawback of spray drying is the limited survival of probiotics (31,33). Several studies have successfully explored approaches to increase the survival percentages after spray drying (8,10,13,23). However, most of the results so far are very specific and difficult to translate between different species. It was, for example, found that a high variability exists between different strains of the same species (14, 24). In addition, the process conditions applied during spray drying (2, 28) and the protective carrier materials added (10, 31) have strong influence on the final viability. Since these parameters need to be optimized for each specific case (different process parameters, different strains or species, and different carrier formulations used during drying), many cost-, time-, and labor-intensive e...