Analysis Of Tannin Interference on Enterolert* 250 Testing of Enterococcus

Overview

The IDEXX Enterolert* 250 Test Kit is designed to indicate the presence of Enterococcus and, when used with the Quanti-Tray®/2000 System, can provide a most probable number (MPN) of bacteria. It is important to obtain accurate testing of Enterococci because it is known to provoke a multitude of health issues in humans. Previous testing utilizing the IDEXX methodology resulted in abnormally high MPNs which led this study to explore the idea of tannin interference with the chemical indicators of the test. Using various concentrations of tannic acid and Enterococcus water samples, it was discovered that a positive exponential relationship exists between increasing tannin concentration and increasing MPN. Further research resulted in a hypothesis regarding the confusion between phenol groups of tannic acid and nitrates of the Enterolert* substrate to account for the false positives. The findings of the experiment supported the hypothesis that high tannin concentration causes an excess of false positives in the Enterolert* test. The discovery of tannin interference in this testing is important to understand the reliability of the technique and investigate possible effects of tannins on other phenol-based water quality tests. It is vital for the safety of the environment to prevent the use of unreliable methods and prevent remediation overcompensation. *Enterolert is a trademark or registered trademark of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United

Competition history

• JSHS 2023 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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