[Effect of chloroform on the extracting efficiency of adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) from the cells of Mycobacterium leprae].

Effect of chloroform on the extraction of ATP from the cells of Mycobacterium leprae was investigated. The results demonstrate that the yields of ATP from the resting cells of M. leprae were much more higher when 100mM Tris-EDTA was added to the procedure than that of the routine method. The amounts of ATP extracted from the cells of M. leprae incubated either in 10% calf serum-buffer (pH 7) or 10% calf serum-2% glycerin-Dubos medium at 30 degrees C gradually increased with time of incubation when chloroform and 100mM-Tris-EDTA were used for extraction of ATP, whereas no increase and periodical decrease of ATP were observed when Tris-EDTA only without chloroform was used in the procedure of ATP extraction. Therefore, it is noted that the use of chloroform and 100mM-Tris EDTA is indispensable for extraction of ATP from the cells of M. leprae.