FAREWELL WORDS BY JUHA V. MENTU

After working for SAMPLION Ltd since 2009 and starting now to work for BIOTECHTOUCH  I would like to wish very  good views into rapid microbiological control for all readers of my PMEU posts.

You can still follow my future posts about environmental and industrial microbiology in following Internet addresses:

http://industrymicrobiologist.blogspot.fi
http://biotechtouch.blogspot.fi

I  would like to thank all my readers and wish, once more, very good forecasts of microbiological control for all of You!

Juha V. Mentu
Microbiologist

Rapid monitoring of bacterial growth and metabolism with the PMEU Unit from clinical, environmental, food and process industry samples

THE PRESENTATION OF PMEU TECHNOLOGY AT THE NEW ZEALAND MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEETING 2ND OF DECEMBER 2010, AUCKLAND, WITH THE MOTTO “small things, BIG ideas” BY ADJUNCT PROFESSOR ELIAS HAKALEHTO

ABSTRACT


The idea of constructing a cultivator where microbe enrichment could be started on the sampling site has fascinated us for many years. In the PMEU (Portable Microbe Enrichment Unit) one actually intensifies the research on metabolic reactions in a multiplied scale. This equipment also simulates the interactions between different microbes, and it therefore can be used for studying microbial ecosystems.

Sampling in an Austrian hospital during three years from the bile specimens of about 250 patients indicated that coliformic bacteria and fecal enterococci represented around 60% of the microflora in this part of the gastrointestinal tract. The mixed acid fermenting coliformic strains and the neutral end-products producing Klebsiella/Enterobacter group were shown to live in symbiosis in the PMEU cultures implying to their cooperation in the duodenum. This gives an idea how the microbial community maintains intestinal conditions by regulating the pH and other parameters.

The PMEU Spectrion® equipment validated by the State Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has Ethernet connections which make it possible to follow up the microbe enrichment and detection process in real time. The water department field trials are reported. The PMEU can be used to monitor directly both hygiene indicator strains as well as pathogenic bacteria, both in water and in food. A recent report involving the National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland describes detection of Campylobacter sp. from natural and household waters using the combination of PMEU enrichment and the real time PCR.

In hospital tests at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland, the PMEU Scentrion® gas sensing bacterial cultivator has been validated for the microbiological blood testing of neonatal and cancer patients. The PMEU has also been used for monitoring the development of the microflora after the birth or antibiosis. The enhanced enrichment could be used effectively for improving the recovery of bacterial cells in the detection process.

Biocide testing (KILL tests) with PMEU Spectrion

PMEU Spectrion ® can be applied as a rapid tool for two types of biocide testing.


GROWTH PREVENTION TEST shows the ability of the biocides to prevent microbial growth in processes. Short detection times (typically under 10 hours) indicate poor or lacking effect of the active compound. Long detection times (over 10 hours) show that the biocide can prevent the microbial growth in the target.

This test can be performed in aerobic, microaerophilic or anaerobic conditions.

Temperature control of PMEU unit allows testing of psycrophilic, mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms.

Turbidity of the test syringes, caused by microbial growth, will be documented automatically and growth curves will be drawn for every syringe. Detection time
(= the moment of the test, counted from the beginning, when the turbidity has increased by a certain factor) can be seen from these growth curves.

PMEU KILL TEST bases on the biocide-dependent change of microbial count. ATP Assay is the fastest method to detect the quantitative increase and the decrease of microbial cells in the samples and is therefore chosen to assist PMEU biocide testing in cases where both the growth prevention and the death of microbes shall be evaluated.

Results of these two types of biocide tests have a significant correlation.

GROWTH PREVENTION TEST can visualize some microbial processes which cannot be detected with traditional colony count method, eg. it shows the prevention of spore germination to vegetative cells by an effective biocide.

All PMEU Spectrion® methods have one excellent property: they indicate the effects of biocides in the original samples, and recovering effect of colony count methods are totally excluded. The user can focus the attention to the biocidic effects which really take place in the paper machine processes.

Modifications of PMEU biocide testing for biofilm control are also available.

Demonstration of PMEU Spectrion coliform analyses in Tornio, 17th - 18th November 2010.

Finnish Water and Waste Water Works Association (FIWA) has arranged a conference for the professionals of water and wastewater authorities and salesmen, especially those locating in Northern Finland, in Tornio at the end of November 2010. FIWA's membership includes over 300 Finnish water utilities which cover about 90 % of water services in Finland. In addition FIWA has about 130 collaborating members (companies, institutes, etc.), among them also SAMPLION Ltd.

Rapid, quantitative analyses of coliforms and E.coli, based on COLILERT cultivation (IDEXX, U.S.A.) were demonstrated on the expo stand of SAMPLION Ltd. These methods, also applied to the national POLARIS Project in Finland by SAMPLION Ltd. and BERNER Ltd., have been visualized in the photos above. Yellow color of the cultures indicate coliform growth and E.coli can be detected among other coliforms by its blue fluorescence when illuminated with short-wave UV emission ("Wood's Lamp).

A short, oral presentation concerning the benefits of broth culture analyses (compared to colony count analyses) was held by Key Account Director Juha V.Mentu who also highlights those PMEU Spectrion features which are unique among broth culture methods: speed (which has been achieved with efficient mixing and aeration), alternative gas compositions (for aerobic, microaerophilic and anaerobic microorganisms) and ON LINE growth measuremets from the test syringes, deliverable also in wireless way to the observer of the analyses.

Hygiene Monitoring with the Portable Microbe Enrichment Unit (PMEU)

Elias Hakalehto, Doc., Ph.D.
Department of Biosciences
University of Eastern Finland
P.O.B. 1627
FI-70211 Kuopio
Finland

Abstract, 41st R3-Symposium of the R3-Nordic Society in Espoo 25.-26.5.2010

The PMEU (Portable Microbe Enrichment Unit) technology (Samplion Oy, Siilinjärvi, Finland) is a microbe cultivation method producing advantageous growth conditions for individual bacterial cells. Therefore, monitoring of bacterial populations and the presence of potential contaminants is optimised in terms of speed and accuracy. Hygienically important isolates of various bacterial strains have been cultivated aerobically, microaerobically or anaerobically using standard broth media by standard PMEU enhanced enrichment technology, or by PMEU Spectrion ® or PMEU Scentrion ® sensored units equipped with optical, IR, or gas sensors. The units were produced by Samplion Oy according to the ISO 9001 accepted protocol. The reference cultivations were carried out using standard microbiological procedures. The PMEU Spectrion ® is being validated by the VTT of Finland. PMEU versions facilitated ultra-fast detection of coliformic bacteria, bacilli, salmonellas, staphylococci, streptococci, campylobacteria and other groups. The PMEU Scentrion ® equipped with gas sensors for volatile organic compounds detected the contaminants at concentrations of bacterial levels around 10-1000 cfu/ml in 2-5 hours. Also the hospital validation studies in Austria and Finland are summarized. Moreover, The PMEU has been demonstrated to help the environmentally stressed cells to recover and become viable in the enrichment cultures. Hygiene sampling was carried out using a specific sampling syringe serving also as an incubator in the PMEU.

Biocide testing with PMEU Spectrion has begun!

PMEU biocide testing has been available already since the early years of this millenium. This method is based on Basic PMEU and ATP Assay. This combination gives reliable results and has been presented in several articles (last time in Paper and Timber, Nov. 2009).

First, very promising tests with PMEU Spectrion have now started, both in laboratory and in the mills. The picture above shows a typical equipment for mill trials, containing both PMEU Spectrion and ATP Assay tests. PMEU Spectrion measures growth curves of the microbial population (total or selective) automatically and is therefore independent of ATP Assay.

SAMPLION Ltd. will focus on Pulp and Paper biocide tests in August 2010, and samples are very welcome from 2.8.2010 on. More information of this free chance to be familiar with this novel method will be delivered by Microbiologist, Key Account Manager Juha V. Mentu (juha.mentu@samplion.fi) by request.

SAMPLION Ltd. exhibition stand before opening of the congress.

This picture represents the stand of SAMPLION Ltd. in PulPaper 2010 Congress exhibition on the day before the opening. This event was a success! 5800 visitors on Wednesday, on the "middle day" of the congress!

In addition to the exhibition stand, an oral presentation was given by Key Account Manager (originally paper industry microbiologist) Juha V. Mentu, which will be sent by request.