If you work in a microbiology laboratory, whether in the field of environment, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food and beverage, or personal care, your daily work will include colony counting. This can quickly become an exhausting task for microbiologists, as the counting process requires lots of time and concentration, without mentioning the tedious tracking process. Currently, using a digital counter or an automatic colony counter are 2 ways to improve this part, making it more comfortable and time efficient for the microbiologist:
- A digital counter, such as the DOT, designed with a lens of DINx2 magnification power, and adjustable light, enables the microbiologist to tick detected colonies while counting on a digital display.
- An automatic colony counter, like the SphereFlash®, allows the microbiologist to know the colony enumeration in one plate in only 2 seconds, getting standardized results with the best accuracy.
Colony count on any kind of agar type and color
IUL´s automatic counter can detect and classify colonies of different colors on different kinds of agar, the most used being the following:
- Blood agar, used to differentiate bacteria based on their hemolytic properties
- Chocolate agar, used for growing respiratory bacteria
- Nutrient agar, used to grow the largest variety of microbes, typically bacterias and some fungi
- Luria Bertani (LB) agar, used for bacterial culture. The LB culture medium can be supplemented with antibiotics to make it selective.
- MacConkey agar, used to isolate and differentiate enterics based on their ability to ferment lactose
- Chromogenic agars, contains a colorless substrate that changes to a discernible color as the result of an enzymatic reaction.
A “one-size-fits-all”, suitable for all kind plates
With the SphereFlash®, there is no need to use different devices for each kind of plates. It comes with adapters and centering devices designed to fit various diameters and type of plates shape.
Switch your plates of 100 mm, 90mm, 60mm (RODAC), and membrane filter plates in the blink of an eye.
Are you using 3M Petrifilm, CompactDry or MC-Media Pad plates? The SphereFlash® will be your best ally.
Wide range of colony enumeration and traceability
Designed with a state-of-the art Software, the SphereFlash® will detect a wide range of colony types with minimal or no user parametrization, using pre-existing methods or by creating your owns.
The SphereFlash® will classify the colonies by color and by diameter, making every microbiologist´s concern resolved.
Moreover, the software distinguishes colonies from challenging backgrounds and will always give the results with the utmost accuracy.
If what you need is an automatic colony counter that meets the requirements of 21 CFR part 11 on traceability, you can have it with the SphereFlash®. It includes system validations, user management and audit trails, that complies with this standard.
You can also export the results including the images in CSV or PDF, and get customizable statistical reports.
For more details about the 21 CFR part 11 compliance, you can read the following article.
The SphereFlash® is IUL’s most advanced automated colony counter and zone reader. Featuring an optimal image capture due to its patented reflection-free illumination chamber and powerful intuitive software, SphereFlash® takes your lab work to the next level.