The Effect of Vacuum Pressure in Membrane Filtration Systems for the Efficient Detection of Bacteria from Natural Mineral Water

The procedures currently used for determining microbiological quality of natural mineral water recommend filtration through membrane filters. In this study, we evaluated the effect of vacuum pressure for the accurate detection of bacteria from water samples seeded with Escherichia coli. We observed that the number of E. coli detected increased with increasing vacuum pressure. In order to examine the retention rate of bacteria in the holes of the membranes under the different pressures, the membrane filters were removed after filtration, washed with sterile water by vortexing, and placed on m-Endo agar plates. With all the filters tested, the number of E. coli retained within the filters at negative 600 mmHg was approximately 10 to $20\%$ higher than that obtained with 100 mmHg. These results demonstrate that the vacuum pressure exerted during the filtration procedure may affect the fixation of bacteria into some portions of openings in the membrane filter.