Table 1.

Recovery of spore and growing cell particles after incubation on bSi wafers and analysis by phase contrast microscopy.

Spores or cells analyzed	Spore/cell particle recovery - %1	Phase bright spores - %1
B. subtilis wild-type spores	98 ± 2	98 ± 1.5
B. subtilis coatless spores	96 ± 1	98 ± 2.5
B. megaterium GR-less spores	99 ± 2	99 ± 1
B. cereus spores	98 ± 2	96 ± 1.5
B. subtilis wild-type cells	91 ± 8	—

Spores or growing cells were prepared and either untreated or incubated on bSi wafers for 48 hr (spores) or 3 hr (growing cells), spores and cells recovered, spore and cell numbers determined by counting from 179–207 particles, and between 179–192 spores were examined by phase contrast microscopy, all as described in Methods.

¹Values are relative to values for the untreated starting spores that were set at 100%, and all values are shown +/− standard deviations from duplicate determinations in three independent experiments.