The key difference between bubble point and diffusion test is that bubble point is useful in determining problems that are associated with the diffusion test, whereas diffusion test is a culture-based microbiological assay that is useful in diagnostic and drug discovery laboratories.
Bubble point and diffusion test are important terms in biochemical analysis techniques. This is because we can use the bubble point to address issues that are associated with the diffusion test. The bubble point test is important as a non-destructive method of integrity testing that can allow the user to correlate the results with the manufacturer-determined values indicating the proper function.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Bubble Point Test
3. What is a Diffusion Test
4. Bubble Point vs Diffusion Test in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Bubble Point vs Diffusion Test
What is a Bubble Point Test?
A bubble point test is a non-destructive technique of integrity testing, allowing us to correlate the results with the manufacturer-determined values that indicate the proper function. Therefore, it is not a direct measurement of the pore size. However, we can use this method to determine the maximum pore size and pore size distribution of a membrane.
The bubble point is the temperature where the first bubble of vapor is formed when heating a liquid containing two or more components. Vapor probably has different composition compared to the liquid, which makes the bubble point at different compositions useful when designing distillation systems.
What is a Diffusion Test?
Diffusion test, or more precisely, disc diffusion test, is a culture-based microbiological assay that is useful in diagnostic and drug discovery laboratories. It has many other names, including agar diffusion test, Kirby-Bauer test, dis-diffusion antibiotic susceptibility test, KB test, etc.
We can use this method in diagnostic labs to determine the susceptibility of bacteria that is isolated from a patient’s infection to clinically approved antibiotics. Moreover, this method allows physicians to prescribe the most appropriate antibiotic treatment. Besides, we can use this method to screen biological material and drug candidates for antibacterial activity.
Usually, in a diagnostic laboratory, we can perform a disc diffusion test by inoculating the surface of an agar plate with bacteria isolated from a patient’s infection. The paper disks consisting of the antibiotic are then applied to the agar, and we can incubate the plate thereafter. If an antibiotic is stopping the bacteria from growing/killing the bacteria, we can observe an area around the disk where the bacteria haven’t grown enough to be visible.
What is the Difference Between Bubble Point and Diffusion Test?
The bubble point is important in the diffusion test to determine the problems associated with it. The key difference between bubble point and diffusion test is that bubble point is useful in determining problems that are associated with the diffusion test, whereas diffusion test is a culture-based microbiological assay that is useful in diagnostic and drug discovery laboratories.
The following table summarizes the difference between bubble point and diffusion test.
Summary – Bubble Point vs Diffusion Test
The bubble point is the temperature where the first bubble of vapor is formed when heating a liquid containing two or more components. The diffusion test is a culture-based microbiological assay that is useful in diagnostic and drug discovery laboratories. The key difference between bubble point and diffusion test is that bubble point is useful in determining problems that are associated with the diffusion test, whereas diffusion test is a culture-based microbiological assay that is useful in diagnostic and drug discovery laboratories.
Reference:
1. “Bubble Point Integrity Testing.” Scott Labs.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Free-photo-image-bottle-crystal-glass” By U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public Domain) via RawPixels
2. “Agar Diffusion Method 1” By Sommer36 – Own work, (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia