[Micromethod of determining phosphatase activity of staphylococci]

A rapid method for measuring phosphatase activity of staphylococci has been developed. Russian 96-well polystyrene plates are used. 0.1 ml of 0.2% sodium phenolphthalein phosphate solution in 1% peptone water, pH 6.8 to 7.0, and 0.1 ml of the tested strain suspension in normal saline are put into wells and incubated for 5 h at 37 degrees C. The results are assessed after adding 0.05 ml of 2.5% ammonia spirit into each well. If the result is positive, the medium is colored raspberry-red, if negative-light-yellow. The method is simple, available, and cheap.