A simplification of the protein assay method of Ramsay et al. for the quantification of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans in the presence of ferric precipitates

A variation on Ramsay's method for microbial protein determination has been developed in order to quantify Thiobacillus ferrooxictans attached to ferric precipitates or in aqueous suspensions containing such precipitates. Some modifications have been introduced to provide a method that is more sensitive, simple and rapid. A linear standard curve is presented to permit a direct correlation between the protein concentration (mg/l) and the cell concentration (10(6) cells/ml). An application of this method has been demonstrated in the quantification of biomass immobilized on the surface of polyurethane foam particles in a packed bed reactor, several experiments having been conducted to establish the best conditions for the quantification studies.