Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41912794›Full record

ArticleAnalytical sciences : the international journal of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry2026

Optical analysis of bacterial metabolic activity and spore germination via formazan formation.

Hikaru Ikeda, Miya Kawanaka, Koki Takenaga, Akira Tokonami, Kanta Sako, Satohiro Itagaki, Shigeki Nishii, Hiroshi Shiigi

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Article in Analytical sciences : the international journal of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Hikaru IkedaDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Miya KawanakaDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Koki TakenagaDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Akira TokonamiDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Kanta SakoDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Satohiro ItagakiDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Shigeki NishiiDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan.
Hiroshi ShiigiDepartment of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Metropolitan University, 1-1 Gakken, Naka, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan. shii@omu.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1664-7816

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science London 202516172KAKENHI 21H04963KAKENHI 22K18442KAKENHI 25H01224
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite improved sanitation protocols, foodborne illnesses caused by spore-forming bacteria remain a persistent concern. In this study, we developed a method to visualize bacterial metabolic activity via dark-field microscopy by exploiting the optical properties of formazan particles generated from the reduction of the tetrazolium salt 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) by intracellular cofactors. Escherichia coli was used as a model organism to track formazan formation, which became pronounced following cell division, showing a strong correlation with metabolic activity. The method was further applied to various bacterial species with diverse respiratory and fermentation characteristics to evaluate the influence of metabolic profiles on formazan formation. Moreover, Bacillus subtilis spores were employed to investigate metabolic changes during germination and outgrowth. Time-lapse imaging revealed stage-specific formazan production, demonstrating the potential of this technique to monitor the metabolic reactivation process non-destructively. These findings suggest that MTT-based optical monitoring can serve as a valuable tool for assessing bacterial viability and spore germination dynamics, with potential applications in food safety and microbial risk control.

Indexed as

Bacillus subtilisEscherichia coliFormazansSpores, BacterialTetrazolium SaltsFormazansTetrazolium SaltsDark-field microscopyMetabolic activityMTT assayReduced coenzymesSpore-forming bacteria

Identifiers

PMID41912794

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