Microbes Can Swim, but They Can't Hide: The Detection of a Range of Microorganisms Using an Online Water Bioburden Analyzer: Poster Presented at PDA Week 2026.

Detecting microorganisms in pharmaceutical water can be challenging. The current compendial method of plate counts is problematic. Organisms may not grow on the media that is used or may take longer than 7 days to appear on plates. As a result, the use of a bio-fluorescent particle counter (BFPC) offers advantages for the detection of water-borne organisms as their detection is not dependent on traditional culturing methods and is continuous and real-time.For this study, the ability of an online water bioburden analyzer (OWBA), a specific class of BFPC, is challenged to detect different organisms in pharmaceutical-grade water with an accuracy of 0.5 or greater AFU:CFU, variability less than 35% and linearity of r2>0.9025.Based on the results gathered, the OWBA can detect a wide range of organisms with accuracy, precision and linearity, indicating these microorganisms can swim, but they cannot hide!