Automatic radiometric measurement of antibiotic effect on bacterial growth.

A new method for rapid, automatic radiometric measurement of antibiotic effects on bacterial growth was developed and compared with a conventional broth dilutior technique. The radiometric method measures the amount of radioactive CO(2) generated by the bacterial metabolism of (14)C-glucose in the presence of antibiotics. Antibiotic effect on bacterial growth was standardized by measuring the evolution of (14)CO(2) 3 hr after inoculation.