To achieve the accreditation, ProtoCOL, one of the dominant systems in the automated colony counting market, was used in studies to enumerate potentially hazardous water contaminants. The data from the automated counts were compared to those achieved with other counting methods and since the results were not statistically different, accreditation was awarded.
Using its CCD camera and integrated software, ProtoCOL can transfer an image of an agar plate to computer. Here the software analyses the colonies while also automatically compensating for different coloured media and agar thickness, as well as artefacts such as bubbles or debris. The software is so powerful it can even enumerate touching colonies and colonies of varying sizes, making ProtoCOL ideal for counting the mixed population of microbes found in water.
Simon Johns, International Product Manager for Synbiosis explained: With the remote but worrying possibility of deliberate contamination of our environment, it is reassuring to know that ProtoCOL’s automated colony counting has been validated as an accurate way of enumerating microbes sampled from water. Since it can count virtually any bacteria on any type of plate in seconds, ProtoCOL could be used by microbiologists to help quickly enumerate harmful micro-organisms from a range of environmental samples thus preventing the spread of disease.
For further information contact:
Jayne Arthur
Synbiosis
Beacon House
Nuffield Road
Cambridge CB4 1TF
Tel: +44 (0)1223 727125
Fax: +44 (0)1223 727101
E-mail: jayne.arthur@synbiosis.com
Website: www.synbiosis.com