Advances in Physical Chemistry Tools for Probiotic Characterization

Probiotics are microorganisms that have existed for many centuries. However, they are being recognized, only nowadays, as beneficial microorganisms for human, animal and plant species by a wide population community. Both scientists and industries are trying to discover further while better understanding their roles, behaviors, mechanisms and functionalities for generating high-quality profitable products. Several strategies are available for the probiotic investigation in terms of identification, quality, quantity, and mechanism of action. Most of them are based on biological, biochemical and/or physiological methods. Nevertheless, physical chemical approaches appear very attractive, but less exploited for characterizing and controlling microorganism qualities and performances. This chapter is intended to fill the gap by overviewing the advances in physical chemical methods for probiotic characteriza-tion. Its content deals successively with spectroscopy, microscopy, surface analysis, and calorimetry techniques applied to probiotic-based products.