Flow Cytometry

Rapid Detection

Unlike traditional culturing methods, flow cytometry provides quick results, enabling timely decisions regarding water treatment and distribution. It’s particularly useful in detecting rapid changes in microbial content during water treatment processes.

Cell Viability Assessment

It can differentiate between live and dead cells using fluorescent dyes. This is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of disinfection processes in water treatment.

Water Quality Parameters

By measuring changes in cell size, granularity, and internal complexity, flow cytometry can infer water quality and detect pollution or contamination events.

Microscopy

Specific Detection

Detection and visualization of specific target microbial groups are essential for monitoring microbial communities relevant to water quality.

Pathogen Identification

Identifying specific pathogens or indicator organisms, providing a direct visual confirmation, vital for assessing drinking water’s microbiological safety.

Real-time Monitoring

Rapid results compared to traditional methods, enabling real-time monitoring of water quality and quick responses to contamination.

Quantitative Analysis

Although primarily qualitative, microscopy can be semi-quantitative and is used to estimate the abundance of specific microbial populations or to detect shifts in microbial community structure in response to environmental changes.