Optimization of Viability Treatment Essential for Accurate Droplet Digital PCR Enumeration of Probiotics.

Improvements offered by viability droplet digital PCR (v-ddPCR) include increased precision, specificity and decreased time to results making for an attractive alternative method to traditional plate count enumeration of probiotic products. A major hurdle faced in v-ddPCR, however, is distinguishing between live and dead cells. The objective of this study was to evaluate a combination of PMA and EMA (PE51) for viability treatment of freeze-dried probiotic powders.