Intelliquant 9000 conducts onsite incubation, and simultaneously, during the incubation process, takes readings at two minute intervals using a spectrophotometric detection system
As global concern over protection of food and water supplies continues to be of significant concern, OBIE International has entered into an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to confirm the effectiveness of the new Intelliquant 9000 for monitoring microbial fecal contamination in fresh and marine waters.
The evaluation is taking place under the direction of Oscar Pancorbo, station director of the Senator William Wall Experimental Station (WES), a 2000m2 facility located in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is being supported in part by EMD Chemicals, the US subsidiary of Merck.
Current methods used to detect microbial contamination in food and water supplies require that water samples be physically transported to the laboratory for analysis.
During transportation, the samples must be maintained in a cooler at a temperature not exceeding 10C (4C, according to current EPSA Guidelines) to ensure that there is no microbial growth or kill during the transportation process.
This helps to ensure that the sample being tested is representative of its origin.
It has been estimated that as many as 40% of the false positive results processed are a direct result of transportation and holding time errors.
EPA regulations require that all ambient water samples be delivered to the laboratory within four hours of sampling and that laboratories complete their preparation of the samples for immediate incubation within two hours of receipt.
The process used by laboratories is called membrane filtration.
The membrane filtration method is the current gold standard used for detecting microbial contamination and is a complex process requiring highly skilled laboratory technicians to create a number of dilutions of each sample and to plate each of the dilutions for incubation for a period ranging from 24-48 hours.
When you consider the fact that trained laboratory personnel have to be at the laboratory to interpret the results at the end of the prescribed incubation period and that the majority of laboratories operate on a nine to five, Monday to Friday work week, with current biosecurity issues and increasing pollution, the need for a new technology becomes increasingly clear.
The predecessor to the new Intelliquant 9000 is the Aquasure Pro 3000, a portable incubator which provides for the ability to conduct presence absence testing in the field.
Like the Intelliquant 9000, with the Aquasure Pro 3000 a water sample is added to a specially designed disposable bottle containing Merck's Readycult Coliforms 100 growth media.
The plastic bottle is then placed into the 12volt incubator and the button on the incubator is depressed to commence the incubation process.
A colour change from yellow to green within the 24 hour incubation period confirms the presence of total coliform bacteria and that the water may be unsafe for consumption.
If the sample is positive, a UV light or Kovacs Reagent can then be used to determine the presence or absence of e.
coli.
Over the course of the past four years, the USEPA accepted Aquasure Pro 3000, has been used by water managers, field inspectors and well drillers in Africa, Australia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Canada, and the USA and is an excellent tool for determining drinking water contamination, as tests can be conducted on-site within 24 hours and transportation and holding time errors are eliminated.
The patented Intelliquant 9000, part of the new Amis (automated multi tasking incubator spectrophotometer) system has been in development for four years.
Like the Aquasure Pro 3000, it not only conducts onsite incubation, but simultaneously, during the incubation process, takes using a spectrophotometric detection system, readings at two minute intervals.
This provides for the ability for the instrument to be able to detect and report color and fluorescence change, to identify contamination more accurately and in less time than any other currently available method: 3-12 hours from time of sample collection.
The time required for testing is directly related to the acceptable level of contamination.
In addition, the Amis system, with the soon to be launched, Agacss - Aqua-track software provides for on-line web based reporting and MMS Messaging.
The Amis system represents a giant leap forward in the field of microbiological testing.
With Amis, testing can be conducted on-site, even in the most remote areas, and as long as a laptop or PDA is available, test results can be securely communicated, stored and compared by laboratories or regulators half a continent away (laboratories without borders).
With the Amis system emergency personnel can be automatically notified of potentially hazardous situations, any time of the day or night, so that immediate corrective action can be taken.
Life guards and holiday resorts operators can have quick access to local water conditions, to ensure that their visitors are not swimming in contaminated water.
The possibilities for Amis are endless, claims Obie.
The parameters capable of being monitored with the Intelliquant 9000, are limited only by the chromogenic reagents with colorimetric and fluorescent markers available.
With license and distribution agreements already in place in California, New York State, Israel, and a number of Canadian provinces, Obie International is currently supplying validation instruments and working closely with government agencies, laboratories and international partners who are in the process of validating the system for a variety of specific applications.
The first production orders will be delivered in the spring of 2007, and Aquasure Technologies, the inventor of the technology, is already hard at work with the development of the Intelliquant 9300.
Aquasure is looking at the potential of this technology with modifications, to be able to detect antibiotic resistance at the doctor patient level.
