[Determining the concentration of eukaryotic cells by their integral fluorescence]

A proportional relationship was established between the total luminescence intensity of eukaryotic cells trapped on membrane filters and stained with fluorescent dyes and the number of cells present on the specimen area corresponding to the size of the cytofluorometric unit probe. An integral fluorescent method was developed that allows determination of the concentration of somatic cells in milk samples with the help of a calibration curve constructed on the basis of counting yeast cells. The method allows determination of the cell concentration in a 1 x 10(5)-5 x 10(6) cells/ml range. The results obtained using the integral fluorescent method are compared with data of direct visual count and with readings of the automatic FOSSOMATIK device.