Measurement uncertainty in testing for antimicrobial activity on textile materials

Abstract

Measurement uncertainty is widely recognized among physicists and chemists, but is a relatively new concept to many microbiologists. Generally, available documents about measurement uncertainty in microbiological testing are applicable to food and water microbiology. Two quantitative methods for evaluation of antimicrobial activity of textile materials are used commonly in textile laboratories. Methodology and expression of results for the two methods are similar; thus, calculation and expression of measurement uncertainty for results obtained by these test methods are also similar. This contribution describes the way in which measurement uncetainty for these methods can be evaluated and reported.