Development of a Rapid ATP Bioluminescence Assay for Biocidal Susceptibility Testing of Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria

An ATP-based biocide susceptibility assay for mycobacteria was developed by optimizing the cell lysis and assay conditions. Compared to the conventional agar plating method, the assay was rapid (1.5 h) and showed high sensitivity and specificity as determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The test species, Mycobacterium immunogenum, M. chelonae, and M. abscessus, showed various susceptibilities to the glutaraldehyde- and isothiazolone-based test biocides.