The extraction and measurement of adenosine triphosphate from marine sediments1

Abstract

A technique has been developed, using boiling sodium bicarbonate buffer, to extract adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from marine sediments and has been tested on a variety of sediments, including those with high organic content, clay, and carbonate. Recovery of ATP, as measured by the addition of bacteria of known ATP content to sediment, varied from 64–100%. The technique also was as effective as the conventional Tris buffer for extraction of ATP from both pure cultures of bacteria grown in broth and natural seawater samples.