Polyhydroxyalkanoate granules quantification in mixed microbial cultures using image analysis: Sudan Black B versus Nile Blue A staining

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be produced and intracellularly accumulated as inclusions by mixed microbial cultures (MMC) for bioplastic production and in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. Classical methods for PHA quantification use a digestion step prior to chromatography analysis, rendering them labor intensive and time-consuming. The present work investigates the use of two quantitative image analysis (QIA) procedures specifically developed for PHA inclusions identification and quantification. MMC obtained from an EBPR system were visualized by bright-field and fluorescence microscopy for PHA inclusions detection, upon Sudan Black B (SBB) and Nile Blue A (NBA) staining, respectively. The captured color images were processed by QIA techniques and the image analysis data were further treated using multivariate statistical analysis. Partial least squares (PLS) regression coefficients of 0.90 and 0.86 were obtained between QIA parameters and PHA concentrations using SBB and NBA, respectively. It was found that both staining procedures might be seen as alternative methodologies to classical PHA determination.