Rapid discrimination of Micrococcaceae species using semiconductor gas sensors

The headspace generated by bacteria grown in an agar medium (APT) was analyzed by a 6 gas sensor array. The bacterial species studied were the following: Staphylococcus carnosus, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus varians. A statistical analysis of the signals by factorial discriminant analysis meant it was possible to classify 100% of bacterial species into their respective groups. A cross-validation of the discriminating axes classified 90.5% of bacterial strains. These results show that gas sensors are an efficient tool for the discrimination of bacteria in culture.