ON THE QUESTION OF THE REDUCTION OF 2,3,5-TRIPHENYL TETRAZOLIUM CHLORIDE BY MICROORGANISMS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT FAMILIES

Abstract

After a preliminary discussion of the problem of the behavior of a microorganism with respect to its environment with reference to its dissimilatory-metabolic processes, the biological reduction processes are discussed along with their measurement by transferring tetrazolium salts into formazan. The reaction potentialities were studied by using 2, 3, 5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) on 95 different strains that belong to 12 families of microorganisms. The TTC test, performed without the addition of a substrate, yielded clear differences in the reduction ability of the various strains, which were found to depend on the pH value. It was determined that TTC reduction is, indeed, a reaction that is possible in all strains but one that is very dependent on the conditions. A sure differentiation into parasitic and saprophytic strains occurs only with Mycobacteria and Candidae. From these research results, it seems likely that a differentiation of the strains of the other families will also be possible by means of appropriate experiments using specific substrates.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0836173

Entities

People

  • A. Hirsch
  • C. Cattaneo
  • M. Morellini

Organizations

  • United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bacteria
  • Biomes
  • Buffers (Chemistry)
  • Cells
  • Chlorides
  • Environment
  • Metabolism
  • Microbiomes
  • Microorganisms
  • Observation
  • Parasites
  • Redox Indicators
  • Streptococcus
  • Substrates
  • West Germany

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Microbial Pathology
  • Systems Analysis and Design