Flow cytometry evaluation of complement mediated bacterial membrane damage

The study of the complement-outer bacterial membrane interactions is gaining enthusiasm for applying a continuous development of more specialized techniques. In this paper a novel flow cytometry technique shows that highly fluorescent lucifer yellow-stained Neisseriae gonorrhoeae when exposed to the redox reaction of p-nitro blue chloride tetrazolium (NBT), as formazan precipitation takes place, a shift to lesser fluorescent channels of the histogram population occurs. That effect is labeled NBT-laser beam quenching (NBT-LBQ). A significant difference by Kolmogorov-Smirnov summation curve analysis is found between complement heat-inactivated and its counterpart assessed with normal complement microorganisms. The operation of this NBT-LBQ effect by microbial flow cytometry casts an interesting potential for the evaluation of the outer membrane-complement-interaction of serum sensitive microorganisms.