The aim of the present work was to evaluate several methods for analyzing the viability of bacteria after antibacterial photocatalytic treatment. Colony-forming unit (CFU) counting, metabolic activity assays based on resazurin and phenol red and the Live/Dead® BacLight™ bacterial viability assay (Live/Dead staining) were employed to assess photocatalytically treated Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus mutans. The results showed conformity between CFU counting and the metabolic activity assays, while Live/Dead staining showed a significantly higher viability post-treatment. This indicates that the Live/Dead staining test may not be suitable for assessing bacterial viability after photocatalytic treatment and that, in general, care should be taken when selecting a method for determining the viability of bacteria subjected to photocatalysis. The present findings are expected to become valuable for the development and evaluation of photocatalytically based disinfection applications.
Keywords: Bacterial viability; CFU counting; Live/Dead staining; Metabolic activity assays; Photocatalysis.