A simple method to assess bacterial attachment to surfaces

Abstract

The crystal violet microplate adhesion assay was modified to evaluate bacterial adhesion to metal and non‐metal surfaces. Both the viable cell count and the absorbance of the crystal violet stained cells attached to aluminium increased over the period of incubation. There was a highly significant positive linear relationship between crystal violet stained attached cells and the viable cell count of cells attached to aluminium panels (r = 0.9997; p < 0.001: n = 6). The method is relatively simple, sensitive, less time consuming and therefore many samples can be analysed in a short period of time. When the calibrated method was employed to assess the attachment of Vibrio sp to polystyrene, stainless steel and copper, it gave a fairly reliable estimate of bacterial adhesion to these surfaces.