Synbiosis: Automated Colony Counter is UKAS Accredited.

For Accurate Enumeration of Potentially Hazardous Microbes in Water

6th November 2002. Cambridge, UK: Synbiosis, a world-leading manufacturer of automated microbiological systems is pleased to announce its ProtoCOL automated colony counter has been awarded prestigious UKAS accreditation in a major UK-based water authority. The independent validation shows this method can rapidly produce highly accurate counts of microbes sampled from water and could be used to help control disease outbreaks.

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.”

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For Further Information Contact:
Jayne Arthur, Synbiosis, Beacon House, Nuffield Road, Cambridge, CB4 1TF, UK.
Tel: +44(0) 1223-727125 Fax +44 (0) 1223-727101
Email: jayne.arthur@synbiosis.com  Web site: www.synbiosis.com  

Editor Contact:
Dr Sue Pearson, PO Box 170, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 3GD, UK.
Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1462-635327 Email: sue6.pearson@ntlworld.com 

Note to Editors

About Synbiosis

Synbiosis is a world-leading supplier of integrated imaging solutions for automatic counting and analysis of microbial colonies and zone measurement. Synbiosis’s ProtoCOL systems are installed in food, pharmaceutical, environmental and research microbiology laboratories world-wide. Synbiosis uses established distribution channels to market its products internationally.

Synbiosis, founded in 1998, is a division of the Synoptics Group based in Cambridge, UK. The Group’s other divisions, Syncroscopy and Syngene, specialise in digital imaging solutions for microscopy and molecular biology applications respectively. Synoptics currently employs 50 people in its UK and US subsidiary operation and has profitable revenue of almost $10 million, which continues to grow rapidly.