Eddy Jet 2W spiral plater: for a gain of time and resources on the serial dilution process
The Spiral Plater is a two-in-one method: diluter and plater at the same time and it is one of the most time- and waste volume- saving methods of inoculation. Because of this, a lot of microbiological laboratories are using Spiral Plater for bacterial determination.
The Eddy Jet 2W, IUL’s rapid plating is a revolutionary approach to rapid plating with a unique system that avoids cross-contamination with its patented micro syringes. IUL’s technology offers a very intuitive user interface without setup times.
Thanks to the Eddy Jet 2W, say goodbye to the fastidious serial dilution process. Spiral Plater is the solution for labs looking for increasing productivity while reducing the number of plates used. All this for a gain of time and for having a better impact on the environment without using too many plates.
Techniques to plate: uses and properties
Nowadays, there are different techniques to plate with a specific use and properties. Although we have different ways of plating or monitoring microbial growth in culture, the most used ones are the spread plate, the pour plate, the drop plate, and the spiral plate.
Although they each have their particularity, all techniques require performing serial dilutions and plate at least three plates before inoculating the sample on the plate in order to get optimum results.
Spread plate
The technique of spread plate involves the use of a sterile L-shape glass rod (Spreader) with a smooth metal or glass surface to apply a sample of bacteria suspended in a solution over a Petri dish. In this way, it is easier to count and isolate the bacteria.
Through this procedure, the sample can be diluted by plating its different concentrations, we can obtain an incubated plate with an easily countable number of colonies and it is possible to calculate the sample’s number of microbes.
Pour plate
The pour plate technique permits us to count the number of colony-forming bacteria that we can find in a liquid specimen. Through this method, an amount of bacteria that are suspended in a solution is placed in the center of a sterile Petri dish thanks to a sterile pipette. Molten cooled agar is poured into the Petri dish that contains the inoculum and it is mixed. After agar’s solidification, the plate is inverted and incubated as usual.
This technique requires a prepared sample as in the spread plate, performing serial dilutions of the mixed cultures to obtain the optimum number of colonies present in a plate to perform the count.
Drop plate
When determining the number of viable suspended bacteria in a known beaker volume we use the drop plate method because the plating and counting procedures require less labor than alternative methods whereas its steps are very convenient and manageable. Also, it requires less time and effort to dispense the drops onto an agar plate than to spread an equivalent total sample volume into the agar.
With this method we can dispense the sample to be analyzed in drops and colony counting can be done faster and more accurately. Besides this, the drops can absorb quickly into the agar on appropriately dried plates.
IUL’s spiral plating: two-in-one method
Aside from gaining an incredible quantity of time, IUL´s Spiral Plating allows cost savings. That is why more and more microbiological laboratories are using the Eddy Jet 2W for bacterial determination. This rapid plater consists of inoculating a known volume of a liquid sample on the surface of a rotating agar plate.
While the volume of the sample is dispensed, the syringe delivers a decreasing concentration while moving from the center to the edge of the rotating plate, following an Archimedean spiral pattern. As a result, unlike manual plating, different concentrations of the samples are present in only one plate. This way, no serial dilutions are required, meaning less waste and a valuable gain of time.
Application scope
Eddy Jet 2W, IUL’s spiral plating, can process many types of samples. Aliquots taken from solutions of any diluted sample are placed inside a gamma-irradiated beaker, specially devised, and introduced inside Eddy Jet 2W for processing. When dispensing the analyte, the device can perform up to 37 types of spirals, in 90 and 150 mm plates alike through its special plate holder device.
Spiral plating is frequently used for counting samples but has other applications. Thanks to the lawn spiral distribution, Eddy Jet 2W can be used to create bacterial lawns meant to be used in Kirby-Bauer Diffusion Method for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST).
Why using the Eddy Jet 2W
Using the Eddy Jet 2W provides many benefits:
- Sensitivity: No disinfection is needed with the patented single-use sterilized microsyringes. There is no risk to get false-negative results due to disinfectant carryover. This makes Eddy Jet 2W the most sensitive spiral plater on the market.
- Optimization: Reduce the number of plates with Eddy Jet 2W, gain time and minimize costs for a fully optimized process.
- Simplicity: Plate very easily with the Eddy Jet 2W. Get trained in less than 5 minutes: insert a Petri plate and press the play button of the innovative color touch screen. You are ready to plate!
- Validation: Spiral plating is a fully validated microbiological method (see ISO 7218/ AOAC 977.27/ FDA BAM Ch.3).
Reading colonies with the Sphereflash®
The Eddy Jet 2W spiral plater’s main purpose is to reduce tedious serial dilution time, as well as the number of plates, generating a threefold decimal dilution counting range on a single plate. After incubation, use the SphereFlash® to count the colonies automatically for a fully automated process or count them manually with the DOT®.
IUL Instruments, the design, and production of solutions for microbiology laboratories
IUL works on designing and manufacturing automation solutions for microbiology laboratories since 1987. Their main purpose is to provide more comfortable, safer, and reliable microbiological control for the industry.
Since the beginning, IUL has been committed to research and offer creative solutions to actual problems. IUL also develops OEM products, always striving for quality and making the world a safer place to live.
IUL is committed to promoting socially responsible public policy as well as conducting business in an ethically sound and environmentally responsible manner. The products are designed and developed to be used on a long-term basis and to reduce resource consumption in a wide range of work environments.