Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of bacteria, yeasts, parasites and more

Microbiological assays examine mechanisms in bacteria, viruses, and parasites. They are essential for understanding infectious diseases, their spread, treatment, and prevention. Here you can find out how well-suited BMG LABTECH plate readers are for all microbiological approaches.

Many assays assess the growth or reproduction of microbes. Bacteria, fungi and parasites are mainly quantified using the absorbance measurement mode, while the replication of viruses is typically measured by luminescence. All growth and replication assays, including those for bacterial metabolism or bacterial growth, need to be measured over time in order to determine growth rates. Similarly, the effects of bacterial growth can also be determined over time, such as the increasing cytotoxicity induced by intracellular bacterial growth. Time courses can be measured with all BMG LABTECH microplate readers. In addition, the instruments regulates the incubation temperature and atmosphere to desired O₂ and CO₂ values, generating optimal growth conditions. Next to growth assays, microplate readers can also be used to quantify metabolic products of microorganisms like shown in the application note: Fluorescence analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by six isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus.

BMG LABTECH's multi-mode plate readers can do much more than just growth measurements: they measure how a virus docks onto a cell, how viruses can be neutralized, how bacteria communicate with each other, what helps against biofilms, whether substances have antibiotic effects (including measurements to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations (or MICs), minimum bactericidal concentrations (or MBCs), novel antibiotics and much more. Learn more about virus detection methods and how to detect a virus with a microplate reader.

Virology

Vaccine and drug development rely on tools to study viruses. Replication, neutralization and binding assays: this is how they are performed on BMG LABTECH plate readers.

Microscopic image of growing molds or mold fungus and spores

Mycology & yeasts

Some fungi can cause illness. Yeast instead is valuable in biological research and production. Learn how plate readers examine useful and harmful organisms.

Bacteriology

While widely regarded as pathogens, bacteria are essential for human health and indispensable in the development of synthetic biology.

Parasitology

Parasites cause one million deaths each year. Our readers help to understand and treat diseases caused by parasites like Plasmodium, Leishmania or Schistosoma.