Abstract
To cope with environmental stress, bacteria can enter resistant dormancy states such as the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, in which cells do not divide but remain alive with the potential to resuscitate. Present in both food and clinical environments, VBNC cells are a serious health risk and a challenge for conventional analytical methods. By detecting growth-independent viability parameters, it is possible to investigate resistance of VBNC cells and identify effective antimicrobials.