Pall GeneDisc® Technology - Simpler, Faster Microbiological Analysis

Pall Life Sciences is expanding its technology range with another rapid microbiology tool to provide timely, reproducible results to customers seeking simpler, faster microbiological analysis.

Pall's GeneDisc® system is a robust qPCR platform, already established in food and environmental sectors, that provides microbiological data in hours instead of days. Novel design features address key customer needs including:

Current assays target quantitative detection of Legionella, E.coli and Enterococcus spp. in water, and detection of pathogenic strains of E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria in food.

Pall has begun developing GeneDisc system applications for the biopharmaceutical industry.

The GeneDisc system consists of:

• The GeneDisc DNA Extractor, which is used for sample preparation
  


• The GeneDisc plate, which is the disposable item in which assays are performed
  


• The GeneDisc Cycler, which performs the qPCR assay and records results

To perform an assay, samples are filtered. Then, the GeneDisc DNA Extractor is used to lyse any microorganisms in the sample, and to concentrate and purify the DNA released.

Purified samples are then added to the GeneDisc plate, along with a liquid reagent that suffices for one plate. Single use of this reagent (as opposed to more typical storage and multiple use of reagent reservoirs) ensures accurate and reproducible results by avoiding the time-dependent deterioration of the reagent that can occur with other systems. The GeneDisc plate contains other key reagents that include the appropriate controls for each sample. These reagents are stabilized to ensure reproducible performance and eliminate operator errors that can occur during multiple reagent additions.

The GeneDisc Cycler records the barcode on the liquid reagent and the GeneDisc plate, to select the test method appropriate to the assay being run. Again, this minimizes the possibility of error by eliminating operator intervention in selecting test parameters.

The GeneDisc system therefore provides an alternative to conventional microbiological testing that is extremely simple to use, rapid, convenient and reproducible.

For more information, please visit: www.pall.com/genedisc