a Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
b Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Kamigamo-Motoyama, Kita-Ku, Kyoto 603-0047, Japan
Abstract:
A new method for rapid enumeration of physiologically active mycobacteria was developed by acid-fast bacilli staining (Auramine O) following formazan reduction. Results can be obtained within 90 min by the optimized procedure, while more than one week is required for the widely used culture-dependent approach.