Use of clean and dry gas for particle removal and assembly therefor

Abstract

The invention features particle removal assemblies and methods for removing dust and other debris from a sample container, e.g., to improve counting colonies of microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, or protists) present in environmental, pharmaceutical, biological, and other samples. An assembly of the invention includes components for particle removal, e.g., a filter, a dryer, a flow controller, and an outlet. The invention also provides methods of detecting samples after cleaning a sample container with clean and / or dry gas.

Description

Background technique [0001] In various industries, especially the food, beverage, healthcare, electronics and pharmaceutical industries, it is necessary to quickly analyze samples for the degree of contamination caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast or mold. [0002] A microbial culture technique known as a microbial count or colony count quantifies the number of microbial cells in a sample. Microbial enumeration methods based on in situ microbial replication typically produce a visually detectable "colony" for each microbial cell in the sample. Thus, counting visible colonies allows microbiologists to precisely determine the number of microbial cells in a sample. To perform microbial enumeration, bacterial cells can be dispersed on the surface of nutrient agar in a Petri dish ("agar plate") and cultured under conditions that allow the bacteria to multiply in situ. Microbial enumeration is simple, ultrasensitive, cheap and quantitative, but can also be slow. Colo...

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