The BACTcontrol is an “early warning system”, complementing the officially accepted methods for the detection of microbiological activity. The measurements are realized in a short period of time, 1-2 hours. This is in contrast to classical microbiological methods, which are labour-intensive and in which cultivation of the organisms is required, taking several days before obtaining reliable results (24-48 hours).

The BACTcontrol detects the microbiological activity in water. It measures the specific enzymatic activities of β-galactosidase (coliforms), β-glucuronidase (E.coli) and alkaline phosphatase (total activity, biomass), as an indicator of the presence of bacterial contamination. The enzyme activity is detected by adding reagents which contain a fluorescent indicator. The reagents are substrate-specific for the enzyme to be detected, meaning that there is an increase in fluorescence when the enzyme is present in the sample