German supplier of microbial growth media uses counter system in its quality control laboratories to produce more accurate results with a wide range of its media
Synbiosis reports that Oxoid's German operations, a supplier of microbial growth media, is using a Protocol system in its quality control laboratories to produce more accurate results with a wide range of its media.
The fully GLP compliant Protocol, with its integrated CCD camera and software, is being used at Oxoid to quality assure around 200 types of media with 60 different microorganisms plated out on them.
The system is so efficient it can capture a plate image, while its software automatically compensates for different coloured media and agar thickness, to produce a count in seconds.
Conny Mallach, head of microbiology at Oxoid, said: "We use the Protocol to test over 100 plates per day for microbial recovery rates.
"We do this by plating out a defined number of microorganisms onto spiral or spread plates and then counting how many actually grow. "This way we can see how well each batch of media performs. "We have had the Protocol since January and have been able to do some very good work with it.
"In fact, we have not yet detected any kind of colony or plate type it cannot cope with. "Prior to this, we used a manual counter but found that although the Protocol does save time, its main benefit for us has been improving the accuracy of our results with highly reproducible counts," added Dr Mallach.
Simon Johns, international product manager for Synbiosis stated: "This is the second major Oxoid site to choose a Protocol for its quality control.
"The other is the main manufacturing unit in the UK, where they have been using the system for over two years. "Therefore, we view this latest installation as a great independent endorsement and believe it will reassure microbiologists using Oxoid media that a Protocol will benefit them with precise counts of virtually all colony types on any plate."
