A fast and simple turbidimetric method for the determination of sulfate in sulfate-reducing bacterial cultures

A standard turbidimetric assay for the determination of sulfate in water was modified with the objective of achieving a quick and simple method for monitoring the decrease of sulfate in cultures of sulfate-reducing bacteria. The effects of sulfate concentration, mixing time and the ratio of sample to conditioning reagent were optimized using a central composite face-centered response surface model design. The results suggested that a mixing time of 30 s resulted in smaller absorbance variance, the variance in absorbance measurements tended to increase with concentration of sulfate and that the ratio between the amount of conditioning reagent and sample had no significant influence on the absorbance variance. The modified assay thus developed is simple and quick, and covers a comparatively large sulfate concentration range (0-5 mM) compared to the standard turbidimetric assay.