%0 Journal Article
%T Monitoring of bacterial contamination of dental unit water lines using adenosine triphosphate bioluminescence.
%A Watanabe A
%A Tamaki N
%A Yokota K
%A Matsuyama M
%A Kokeguchi S
%J J Hosp Infect
%V 94
%N 4
%D Dec 2016
%M 27597265
%F 8.944
%R 10.1016/j.jhin.2016.08.001
%X Bacterial contamination of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) was evaluated using ATP bioluminescence analysis and a conventional culture method. Water samples (N=44) from DUWLs were investigated for heterotrophic bacteria by culture on R2A agar, which gave counts ranging from 1.4×103 to 2.7×105 cfu/mL. The ATP bioluminescence results for DUWL samples ranged from 6 to 1189 relative light units and could be obtained within 1min; these correlated well with the culture results (r=0.727-0.855). We conclude that the results of the ATP bioluminescence assay accurately reflect the results of conventional culture-based testing. This method is potentially useful for rapid and simple monitoring of DUWL bacterial contamination.