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.

PMEU applications for water hygiene analyses have been published in "Rakennustarkastuspäivät 2010"

Novel PMEU water hygiene analyses, intended in the quantitative control of total coliforms, E.coli and enterococci, have been published in "Rakennustarkastuspäivät 2010" Conference, Kuopio, Finland at the end of March. This annual event is dedicated to professionals of building regulations and related administration and collected over 200 participants to the beutiful capital of Savo region, in the middle of Saimaa lake district.

SAMPLION Ltd. was exhibiting PMEU Spectrion and its water hygiene applications, now qualified by VTT, alongside Suomen Jätevesi Ltd. which is the major supplier of small-scale waste water purification systems in Finland.

The picture above demonstrates the combination of selective growth medium and MUG-based UV fluorescence confirmation of E.coli. Among the three PMEU syringes, only the one on the left, containing a culture of E.coli, indicates this fluorescence. This PMEU method is now approved by VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT-S-01705-10) and it also follows the guidelines of international standardization (SFS-EN ISO 9308-3) to fulfill the needs of rapid, quantitative control of hygiene indicator bacteria.