Viability-Preserving Medium for Rapid Microbiological Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current microbiological testing methodologies are slow, labor-intensive, and prone to contamination, leading to significant delays in obtaining results, which can be detrimental in clinical and food production settings, as they often require several days to weeks for accurate results and may result in inaccurate detection due to non-culturable organisms.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a viability-preserving medium to maintain microbiological material in a live state, combined with an enrichment medium to promote growth, followed by magnetic separation and detection using specific antibodies and techniques like LAL or TAL, allowing for rapid and accurate identification of microbiological materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional microbial culture methodology is used, then accurate detection of microbiological material is achieved, but testing time is excessively long (2 days to several weeks)
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary action by using a viability-preserving medium to maintain microbiological material in a viable state during transport and storage before the actual testing begins. This preliminary preservation ensures that when testing starts, the material is already in optimal condition for rapid detection, eliminating the need for extended culture periods while maintaining detection accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If traditional microbial culture methodology is used, then microbiological material can be detected, but the process is labor-intensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the complex culture process by using a viability-preserving medium that maintains material viability without requiring extended culture conditions. This extraction of the culture step simplifies the testing process while preserving detection capability, reducing both labor intensity and procedural complexity.
3Measurement precision
If traditional microbial culture methodology is used, then microbiological material can be detected, but contamination during testing reduces accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The viability-preserving medium acts as an intermediary between the sample collection and the testing process. This intermediary medium protects the microbiological material from contamination during transport and handling, ensuring that the material remains pure and viable without requiring complex sterile culture conditions, thereby maintaining test result accuracy.
4Measurement precision
If traditional microbial culture methodology is used, then comprehensive testing can be performed, but significant delay occurs between sampling and result availability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention maintains continuity of useful action by using a viability-preserving medium that keeps microbiological material viable throughout the entire transport and handling process, not just during culture. This continuous preservation eliminates gaps in the testing workflow, allowing immediate testing upon receipt of samples and significantly reducing the delay between sampling and result availability while maintaining test validity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces testing time to less than 10 hours, enhances accuracy by ensuring only live material is tested, and allows for quicker detection and enumeration of microbiological contaminants, even outside conventional laboratory settings.
Implementation Method 1
The viability-preserving medium may be selected to maintain viability for a certain amount of time until the selection and/or testing steps are carried out. The purpose of a viability-preserving medium may be to provide osmotic conditions that are not harmful to the microbiological material.
Implementation Method 2
testing the selected material for the presence of the specific microbiological material
Data Source
AI summary
A testing method is described for use in undertaking a test upon a sample (10) for the presence of a specific microbiological material, the method comprising the steps of combining the sample (10) with a viability-preserving medium, optionally with an enrichment medium (12) selected to promote growth and/or reproduction of the specific microbiological material within the sample (10) and incubating the sample (10) and enrichment material (12), undertaking a separation process to separate the live specific microbiological material from the sample (10), and testing the separated material for the presence of the specific microbiological material. An apparatus for use in the method is also described.