Geometrical-optics approach to measure the optical density of bacterial cultures using a LED-based photometer

We develop a suitable geometrical-optics approach and demonstrate that it is possible to measure the optical density (OD) of bacterial cultures using a light emitting diode (LED)-based photometer. We measure both attenuation and spot-size variation, and we compensate for diffraction and stray-light impairment related to the incoherent source and large detection area. The approach is validated for different concentrations of two bacterial species, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, that present different shapes and clustering organization.