Question:

I've been propagating large quantities of HSV 1 and 2 for an experiment. However, I am not satisfied with the endpoint titration method of plaque assays on various cell lines. Not only is plaque counting subjective, but after a week of preparation the plaques may not be countable at all. Is there another endpoint titration method by which I could calculate an infectious titer (pfu/ml) that I am not aware of?

Resolution:

We sometimes use the TCID50 method (Tissue Culture Infectious Dose - Karber method). We still prefer PFU for quantitative measurements though.

You are testing multiple log dilutions arent you? You should be able to choose at least 2 plates where the plaques are readable and average the two of them for your final PFU number (both plates should give you a similar number e.g. 10E7 = 39 and 10E8 = 5 for an average of 4.5 x 10E8).