Measuring and testing – Gas analysis – Solid content of gas
Patent
1997-02-05
1998-06-30
Williams, Hezron E.
Measuring and testing
Gas analysis
Solid content of gas
C12Q 106, C12Q 124, G01N 3352
Patent
active
057737100
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring a gaseous environment for the presence of cellular material; more particularly it relates to an apparatus that is capable of providing a measure of presence and/or numbers of cellular microorganisms, such as bacterial cells, in a large volume of air such as in a warehouse or production facility or in an open air location where bacterial presence is suspected. The method and apparatus of the invention are particularly provided for determining the likelihood of pathogenic or allergenic material being present in an environment by continuous on-line measurement of cell numbers. The latter format provides a continuous monitoring of an environment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is a military need for detection of the incidence of attack using biological materials, including attack using bacteria eg. in the form of cells or spores. Such need includes the capability to monitor the air some distance upwind of an asset site in order that sufficient warning may be given to personnel on that site that an attack with bacteria is imminent. In such circumstances it is required that monitoring be carried out continuously, that is for a continuous period of time for any one monitoring device eg. from several to several tens of hours.
There is a further need for determining the presence of pathogens in facilities such as hospitals and in manufacturing premises in which foodstuffs, sterile pharmaceuticals or physiological supplements are being placed in containers prior to use. Before a production run it is desirable that the sterility of the packing environment be checked for the presence of pathogens or less harmful bacteria that may be used as an indication of likely presence of pathogens or allergens.
In both of these situations it is necessary to process a large volume of air, either because of the continuous nature of the measurement or because of the need to sample a significant amount of clean room or sterile warehouse air. Furthermore in both situations it is necessary to screen for a wide range of bacteria, regardless of type, as the threat may not be that of a known genus or species.
It is known to use the luminol reaction to analyse air for the presence of haematin, but this technology is susceptible to giving readings with inorganic materials and is limited to a detection limit of 10.sup.3 bacterial cells in theory as only 10.sup.-16 grams of haematin is extractable from the average bacterial cell. Metal sensitivity giving high backgrounds render this system unreliable in practice.
It is known to screen for the likely presence of bacteria by analysing samples for the presence of adenosine triphosphate. This is readily carried out using luciferase and luciferin agent whereupon the presence of ATP allows luciferase to catalyse the oxidation of luciferin with the resultant emission of light. Samples are loaded into a luminometer and the amount of light emitted used as a measure of the amount of bacteria present. In order to liberate as much ATP from any cells present it is known to add a detergent to the sample in order to lyse the cells and release the ATP.
Although such biochemistry has been extensively utilised with individual samples derived by direct sampling of surfaces, liquids and solids, there has been little development of luminometry equipment suitable for monitoring bacteria in air.
JP 62093634 discloses a counter for microorganisms which draws in an air sample, collects the microorganisms from that and extracts ATP from them before assaying the ATP using a luminescent reaction. This device uses a 0.2.mu. membrane filter to collect microorganisms from the air in a batchwise fashion, with the membrane being periodically analysed by being passed to an extracted station. No details of the sensitivity of this equipment are given, but its performance is limited by the ability of the air pump to draw sufficient sample air across the membrane and by the time taken to process the membrane microorganism content.
JP 58122281 discloses a
REFERENCES:
patent: 4166379 (1979-09-01), Bradshaw
patent: 4238194 (1980-12-01), Dunham
patent: 4313848 (1982-02-01), Scott
patent: 4448887 (1984-05-01), Kauffman et al.
patent: 4689052 (1987-08-01), Ogren et al.
patent: 4794086 (1988-12-01), Kasper et al.
patent: 5003814 (1991-04-01), Crawford et al.
patent: 5047221 (1991-09-01), Jozewicz et al.
patent: 5279970 (1994-01-01), Patashnick et al.
patent: 5417102 (1995-05-01), Prevost
patent: 5529190 (1996-06-01), Carlton et al.
The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Go
Wiggins J. David
Williams Hezron E.
LandOfFree
Cellular material detection apparatus and method does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Cellular material detection apparatus and method, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cellular material detection apparatus and method will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1861826