Latest news from Syngene

Zone sizing at pharma

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Synbiosis is pleased to announce its innovative ProtoCOL automated zone sizing and colony counting system is being used at Saudi Arabia’s leading pharmaceutical company, Jamjoom Pharma, to rapidly and accurately assess the quality of its antibiotic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

Microbiologists in the Quality Control Department at Jamjoom are using ProtoCOL to look for, and count colonies of potential contaminants including, E.coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and air borne fungi in their pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. This is allowing them to continuously monitor that their aseptic manufacturing facility is operating safely under sterile conditions. They are also using the system to automatically measure inhibition zones on antibiotic susceptibility testing plates.

Dr Aamer Khatri, Senior Manager- QC at Jamjoom Pharma commented: “We are manufacturing to GMP standards and have to check between 50 -100 plates per day. This used to involve a lot of tedious plate assessments and manual zone measuring, which was very time consuming. To help speed this process up, we assessed several different automated colony counting systems.”

Dr Aamer Khatri added: “We chose the ProtoCOL because the way in which the software has been written means it is quick and easy to obtain and store an image of each plate and the count or measurement data together. We have to have photographic and numerical evidence to present to the regulatory agencies such as the Saudi Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other Ministries of Health when they audit our company and the fact the system does this, made the ProtoCOL stand out.”

Martin Smith of Synbiosis stated: “We are delighted the ProtoCOL is helping microbiologists at Jamjoom Pharma to improve quality testing and speed up the release of their antibiotics. Their work shows scientists in any pharmaceutical production facility looking for automated colony counting and inhibition zone measuring which truly can be easily integrated into a GMP environment, that a ProtoCOL is the best system to trial.”

Colony counting

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Synbiosis is delighted to introduce its ProtoCOL 3 affordable colony counting and zone measurement system, the world’s first to automatically generate antibiotic and vaccine potency analysis from count and zone data.

The new ProtoCOL 3 system is designed for flexibility and accuracy and can read plates of 30 - 150mm, detecting colonies as small as 43 microns and measuring zones to 0.1mm, tasks which no other automated colony counter can achieve. Additionally, the ProtoCOL 3 system’s unique tri-colour imaging method means performing challenging applications such as distinguishing grid lines on filters from colonies and counting black colonies on dark media are made quick and easy.

The system comes complete with software for basic colony counts and zone measurements. IQ, OQ and PQ documentation is also available to allow the system to be integrated into a GMP environment.

ProtoCOL 3 can be supplied with a computer or users can utilise their own and simply install the ProtoCOL 3 software. For full statistical analysis, they can also add Synbiosis’s new European Pharmacopoeia/US Pharmacopeia compatible software to rapidly obtain potency data from their zone measurements or colony count results.

Martin Smith of Synbiosis commented: “Microbiologists want accurate automation for detecting barely visible colonies and zones. They also want simple set-up, the flexibility to read large and small plates, as well as the capability to rapidly generate statistical analysis from their results using just one system.”

Martin added: “This is challenging, but our new ProtoCOL 3 meets all these technical demands. We are confident that ProtoCOL 3 is now the best value for money, yet most advanced colony counting and zone sizing system and will benefit any microbiology laboratory wanting to increase their productivity.”

Advanced Technology Group

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Synoptics, a world leader in the development and manufacture of innovative digital imaging systems for life science applications, today announced it has set up the Advanced Technology Group, a new division within Synoptics which will work with life science companies and academic clients to deliver bespoke imaging equipment to improve bench-based research, quality control or clinical development processes.

Synoptics, comprising the Syngene, Synbiosis and Syncroscopy divisions, provides innovative products that life scientists need to enhance the quality and speed of their research. Syngene, the largest division, produces state-of-the-art equipment including the G:BOX image analyser to analyse gels and blots in the fields of genomics and proteomics. Synbiosis provides the ProtoCOL 2, a gold standard colony counting and zone sizing system used in many major pharmaceutical companies and Syncroscopy offers Auto-Montage software for producing focused images of 3D samples, which is marketed by major microscope manufacturer, Leica.

Richard Maskell, Synoptics’ new head of the Advanced Technology Group explained: “We are increasingly being approached to develop novel systems and software to bring about a step change in biological quality control and research processes. We have experience in solving challenges associated with imaging a wide variety of materials, as well as taking those solutions to market and are delighted to offer access to this expertise via our new Advanced Technology Group.”

Paul Ellwood, Managing Director of Synoptics added: “Over 25 years of applying imaging technologies has provided Synoptics with an excellent insight into what we can deliver in a specific timeframe. We encourage academic researchers experiencing issues with their biological imaging processes, or technology providers that are looking to design an imaging system to bring to market, to contact us today to discuss how working with our new Advanced Technology Group could help them make a strategic impact on their research or quality control objectives.”

Colony counters

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Synbiosis today introduced aCOLade, its affordable, manual colony counter with automatic result recording, ideal for use in any microbiology laboratory.

The new aCOLade colony counter consists of a compact white light box with a pressure controlled back plate and a pen attached to an integrated digital counter. Operating aCOLade is quick and simple because as soon as microbiologists touch the Petri dish’s lid with the pen to count a colony, a bleeping sound occurs and the count is automatically added and displayed on the digital counter.

To record results, aCOLade can be connected to any computer and comes with software which allows scientists to automatically transfer their counts to a spreadsheet. Since the data is instantly recorded, this saves users time and also improves result accuracy by reducing the risk of keying errors occurring.

This flexible system has a well-designed adjustable plate ring that is used to hold plates as small as 50mm diameter and can be easily altered to accommodate 90mm and 120mm diameter plates, making it suitable for a range of counting applications.

To help improve precision, there is a magnifying lens over the light box and the back plate is also gridded. These features enable microbiologists to see small colonies and distinguish between colonies and debris or a bubble in the media, as well as easily keep track of which plate area they have counted.

Martin Smith of Synbiosis commented: “Many microbiologists want an inexpensive manual colony counter that is simple to use, flexible enough to read large and small plates and allows their results to be easily saved. We are delighted at Synbiosis to have responded to these needs with our new aCOLade. Since scientists have the option to integrate their own computer with aCOLade, we’re convinced that it will prove to be an excellent system for cost-conscious microbiologists wanting a straightforward method of counting and recording their colony counts.”

ProtoCOL 2 colony counting and zone sizing system

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Synbiosis today announced an upgrade to the ProtoCOL 2 system. The major additions to the ProtoCOL 2 include a module designed for rapid, accurate total viable counts (TVC) of colonies and zone measurement, an improved set of edit functions and a new database feature making the transfer of batch set-up and experimental results, quick, easy and secure.

Using the new ProtoCOL 2, microbiologists now have the option of using modules that perform applications including rapid total viable counts (TVC) of colonies, spiral plate counting, Ames test counts, inhibition zone measurement and OPKA assay counts. Existing users of ProtoCOL 2 can also take advantage of these new developments simply by upgrading their current ProtoCOL software.

ProtoCOL 2 uses a novel colour classification method which enables the system to image a wide range of coloured colonies and zone measurement plates. A simple wizard set-up process guides the user through a series of steps to configure the system to handle either single plates or a large batch for high throughput processing.

Additionally, ProtoCOL 2 now has an improved grid detection function. On many automated counters this is often a problem because grid lines or dots get confused and are counted as colonies. With ProtoCOL 2 this is no longer an issue as the system easily detects and eliminates grids on membrane filters, ensuring users now achieve unrivalled colony counting accuracy.

ProtoCOL 2 uses a SQL database to enable LIMS compatibility and provide secure storage for scientists’ data. Using a SQL database means multiple systems in different countries can store batch information and results data on a central database, which can be easily accessed and downloaded. As an option Synbiosis can now provide the tools to download files via internet explorer.

ProtoCOL 2 software provides several levels of security, allowing lab supervisors or auditors to interrogate the software to determine exactly how results are recorded. The software is designed so scientists that follow and implement these features correctly can ensure their data will comply with 21 CFR Part 11.

Martin Smith of Synbiosis explained: “ProtoCOL 2 users often told us they want others to access batch information to set up global standard operating procedures for reading specific plate types. Additionally, they said being able at any time to see their colleague’s results, even if they are in a different building or country is often critically important.”

Martin continued: “We are delighted to introduce our new upgrade to ProtoCOL 2 because it provides the features these microbiologists working in academic collaborations, or major pharma companies, need to make these tasks quick and simple. This now means that ProtoCOL 2 is technically superior to anything else currently available and is essential equipment for scientists that have to set up and access colony counting and zone sizing data.”

ProcScan

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Synbiosis has announced that ProcScan, its full colour plate scanning accessory for the ProtoCOL 2 system is available. This high resolution scanner will allow microbiologists to automatically count colonies or measure inhibition zones on large bioassay plates in seconds.

The ProcScan, designed to be easily integrated to the ProtoCOL 2 system via USB port, can accommodate round or square plates of up to 30cm x 30cm and can even scan large grid arrays. The ProcScan generates an accurate 22G pixel equivalent plate image that is rapidly imported into the ProtoCOL 2. The system then analyses the image to provide data which can be directly exported into statistical analysis packages to determine vaccine or antibiotic potency. Using the ProcScan to image bioassay plates means a larger number of vaccines and anti-microbial treatments can be processed per unit of time, further increasing the productivity of the ProtoCOL 2 system.

The ProcScan comes with IQ, OQ and PQ documentation ensuring faster installation and validation in a manufacturing site. Additionally, the ProtoCOL 2 can be integrated into any 21 CFR Part 11 environment, making the ProtoCOL 2 ideal for generating secure data in a GMP/GLP facility, whilst still saving time with repetitive counting or measuring tasks.

Martin Smith of Synbiosis commented: “Many users of the ProtoCOL 2 want to work with larger sample formats such as bioassay plates for testing antibiotics. This is why by developing the ProcScan, we have extended the capability of our advanced ProtoCOL 2 system to take colony counting and zone measurement technology to a new level of functionality and performance.”

Martin Smith concluded: “We are confident that any pharma or biotech using the combination of ProcScan and ProtoCOL 2 system to automate analysis of bioassay plates will determine the efficacy of vaccine and anti-microbial drugs faster and thus reduce their manufacturing timelines.”

ArabLab 2011

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Synbiosis announces its new ProtoCOL 2 automated colony counting and zone measurement system, for quick and easy analysis of standard and large plates, is being premiered on Stand 146 at ArabLab 2011, in the Dubai International Convention Centre on March 7th-10th.

On stand, Synbiosis experts will demonstrate how the new ProtoCOL 2 with its simple touch-screen controls the system’s high resolution camera and three colour LED lighting. Visitors to the stand will see how the combination of the ProtoCOL 2 system’s unique, (patent-pending) lighting method and its new total viable count (TVC) software make counting colonies as small as a pin-prick, fast and accurate.

Staff will show that Synbiosis has listened to microbiologists and made the new ProtoCOL 2 the best value for money automated colony counter currently on the market. They will explain how by integrating a processor, there is no need to purchase a separate computer with the ProtoCOL 2 and by offering five separate ProtoCOL 2 software modules, which can all be integrated into a CFR 21 Part 11 environment, scientists only have to purchase those their laboratory want to use.

The ProtoCOL 2 software modules for colony counting, spiral plate counts, AMES test counts and inhibition zone measurements will all be on stand. Scientists can try out features such as the icon driven TVC software colour analysis wizard, grid recognition and SQL database for downloading results, to see just how user-friendly the software is for their applications.

Laura Sullivan of Synbiosis commented: “We are delighted to launch our new ProtoCOL 2 at ArabLab because the technology is unbeatable, as well as being precise enough to count incredibly small colonies. Scientists looking for a sensitive, easy-to-use, yet inexpensive colony counter or zone sizing system should visit us on Stand 146 where they will discover the new ProtoCOL 2 is perfect for their microbiology laboratory.”

Colony counter at yeast genetics lab

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Synbiosis is delighted to announce its innovative ProtoCOL 2 automated colony counter is being utilized at the prestigious Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA to rapidly and accurately count colonies of yeast, used as a model system for human DNA repair research.

Geneticists in the Department of Biology at Emory University are using ProtoCOL 2 to count colonies of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to accurately assess how many yeast cells can repair their DNA after they have been subjected to various types of mutagenesis. In general, repair systems in S. cerevisiae are good models for human repair. Therefore, scientists at Emory believe that showing why and how cells repair their DNA in this yeast could help better understand and treat human diseases such as colorectal cancer associated with DNA mismatch repair defects.

Gray Crouse, Professor of Biology at Emory University commented: “Since we need sufficient data points for statistical analysis, we spent a lot of time manually counting hundreds of plates. This was a task our trained staff did not find enjoyable or easy. We tried image analysis software to automate the process but found it couldn’t discriminate different colonies if they were clumped together, as well as being very time consuming to use. We were shown a ProtoCOL 2 and were so impressed by its price and utility, that we installed one.”

Professor Crouse continued: “ProtoCOL 2 can count colonies according to size or color (occasionally we use marker genes which color colonies red; after mutagenesis, yeast cells can sometimes vary greatly in size). To have a segregated count of different sizes or colors is an amazingly useful feature for us. Most importantly, ProtoCOL 2 indicates every colony it has counted with a dot so we can manually review tricky areas. Overall, we have been very pleased to have ProtoCOL 2 and it is proving to be an invaluable addition to our lab.”

Paula Maia of Synbiosis said: “Many academic scientists want to rapidly count colonies with inexpensive automation to improve the accuracy of their results and we are pleased that geneticists at Emory University believe our ProtoCOL 2 delivers this. Their work indicates that if your lab wants a colony counter to detect small colonies, or analyze colonies of varying sizes and distinguish different colored colonies, yet you don’t have a huge budget for equipment, then you have to have a ProtoCOL 2.”