AOAC INTERNATIONAL, under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has embarked on an effort to verify/validate technology to augment and/or replace standard plate counts for use in quantitative methodology such as Official Method^SM 2008.05 (Three Step Method), the first quantitative AOAC method for disinfectants.

EPA and AOAC are seeking technology with the following attributes:

• Easy to use



• More efficient than standard plating techniques in regards to the amount of time spent by the analyst performing the plating as well as the resources required



• Commercially available



• Enumeration medium contains a generic substrate to support the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella enterica



• Enumeration medium has a quick turn-around time



• Technology for reading results is automated and commercially available--the capacity to enumerate colonies using the test kit can be separate from the recovery system



• Enumeration technology provides the ability to store images of the enumerated medium and its associated data

If you are aware of or are using technology that is applicable, contact Maria Nelson, AOAC Consultant, at mnelson@aoac.org. Please send an electronic copy of the method, as well as any available validation data, such as from an Official Methods of Analysis^SM or a Performance-Tested Methods^SM study. Deadline for submission is August 22, 2008.

The AOAC Methods Committee on Efficacy Testing will review the data for suitability of the method for further full collaborative study. If the method has undergone no validation, please indicate your willingness to undertake single-laboratory validation studies; a guide for undertaking such studies will be provided upon request.

We hope you can assist us in this effort.

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