In a logical extension of the ability of IMC to detect and quantify bacterial growth, known concentrations of antibiotics can be added to bacterial culture, and IMC can then be used to quantify their effects on viability and growth. Closed ampoule IMC can easily capture basic pharmacologic information—e.g. minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of an antibiotic needed to stop growth of a given organism. In addition it can simultaneously provide dynamic growth parameters—lag time and maximum growth rate (see Fig. 2, Howell et al. 2011, Braissant et al. 2013), which assess mechanisms of action. Bactericidal action (see Bactericide) is indicated by an increased lag time as a function of increasing antibiotic concentration, while bacteriostatic action (see Bacteriostatic agent) is indicated by a decrease in growth rate with concentration. The IMC approach to antibiotic assessment has been demonstrated for a number of a types of bacteria and antibiotics (von Ah et al. 2009). Closed ampoule IMC can also rapidly differentiate between normal and resistant strains of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (von Ah et al. 2008, Baldoni et al. 2009). IMC has also been used to assess the effects of disinfectants on the viability of mouth bacteria adhered to dental implant materials (Astasov-Frauenhoffer et al. 2011). In a related earlier study, IMC was used to measure the heat of adhesion of dental bacteria to glass (Hauser-Gerspach et al. 2008).
