PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for rapidly and accurately measuring the durability of a spore of a spore-forming bacterium in a germicidal treatment such as a heat treatment, an ultraviolet treatment and a radiation treatment, and to provide a method for effectively carrying out the disinfection of the spore under a necessity minimum germicidal condition by determining the effective germicidal-bacteriostatic condition of the spore based on the result of the evaluating-measuring method.SOLUTION: The real-time rapid and accurate evaluation and measurement of the durability of the bacterial spore can be carried out by measuring the hardness of the spore by an interatomic force microscope or the like equipped with a cantilever. The evaluation-measurement of the durability of the bacterial spore can rapidly be carried out from the result measured by the interatomic force microscope and a previously obtained correlation equation (a calibration curve) between the hardness of the spore and the durability (heat resistance, UV resistance, radiation resistance, chemical resistance or the like) by a simple means, and a proper treating condition for the germicidal-bacteriostatic treatment of the spore can be determined at once.COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT【課題】加熱処理や紫外線或いは放射線処理のような殺菌処理に対する芽胞形成細菌の芽胞の耐久性を、リアルタイムで迅速かつ正確に測定する方法、及び、該評価・測定方法の結果に基いて芽胞の効果的な殺菌・静菌条件を定め、必要最小限の殺菌条件で、効果的な芽胞の殺菌を行なう方法を提供すること。【解決手段】カンチレバーを装備する原子間力顕微鏡等により、芽胞の硬度を測定することにより、リアルタイムで迅速かつ正確な細菌芽胞の耐久性の評価・測定を行なうことができる。本発明における細菌芽胞の耐久性の評価・測定において、原子間力顕微鏡による測定結果と、予め求めておいた芽胞の硬度と耐久性(耐熱性、UV耐性、放射線耐性、薬剤耐性等)との相関式(検量線)から、簡便な手段で、迅速に芽胞の耐久性を評価・測定を行うことができ、即時に、該芽胞の殺菌・静菌処理に対する適正な処理条件を定めることができる。【選択図】なし
