New Protocol 2 UV Accessory Counts Fluorescent Colonies and Plaques Fast

Synbiosis has introduced the ProcUV, its new UV imaging accessory for the ProtoCOL 2 system. ProcUV permits instant imaging of fluorescent colonies and plaques so they can be automatically counted or analysed by ProtoCOL 2, thus saving time and improving accuracy of results.

Based on advanced fluorescent imaging technology, the compact ProcUV accessory, which can be simply connected to the ProtoCOL 2 system, consists of a cabinet with a sliding, auto-locking door to prevent accidental UV exposure. The cabinet contains a high resolution camera and internal UV and white lighting and is also equipped with specialised interchangeable filters, to allow microbiologists to view fluorescing bacteria, such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, fluorescent plaques and bacteria expressing Green Fluorescent Proteins.

ProcUV is simple to set up as its automatic exposure time settings ensure users can capture colony images at the touch of a button. The high-quality images can then be directly transferred into the ProtoCOL 2 in seconds, where the ProtoCOL 2 counts and analyses results automatically, to save microbiologists countless hours of repetitive work.

Martin Smith of Synbiosis stated: 'Fluorescent colonies and plaques are the most difficult ones to count, as they require specific UV lighting conditions to be able to see them. This means that a powerful imaging system equipped with specialised filters to enable the camera to image each fluorescing colony is required.'

Martin Smith added: 'We have risen to this challenge and by utilising the decades of imaging expertise we have in-house, we have come up with the perfect cost-effective solution in the ProcUV. For any microbiology laboratory wanting to extend the capability of their ProtoCOL 2 system to perform different types of fluorescent colony and plaque analyses, the ProcUV is ideal.'