BioSpot® Colony Counting

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What control does the user have over the imaging and counting parameters?

Imaging parameters such as exposure control and illumination settings can be modified and saved as templates for similar testing conditions. An intuitive suite of counting parameters permits user control of sensitivity, size gating, colony separation, background correction, etc.  The parameter settings are saved as templates that can be applied to specific wells within a single plate or across numerous plates of similar testing conditions. Templates are saved as user defined fields and can be created according to organism, plate format, agar type, and more.

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How is counting data handled with the BioSpot® system?

CTL’s BioSpot® software suite exports data to Microsoft Excel, which allows further spreadsheet manipulation. Additionally CTL offers SpotMap™, which is a sophisticated data management tool for large scale analysis.

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Can I recover viable colonies after analysis with BioSpot® machines?

CTL’s BioSpot™ colony enumeration process is non-destructive and allows organism recovery for further growth. This feature is important in microbial applications for the identification of detected organisms.

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Are BioSpot® instruments compatible with plate stackers and other robotic high-throughput systems?

CTL’s BioSpot® instruments are compatible with plate handling robots and stackers. CTL offers several plate handling products that are validated for use with the S5 instruments. Please inquire for more information.

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What is the smallest colony size that can be detected with BioSpot®?

CTL’s BioSpot® instruments readily detect microbial colonies as small as 25 microns in diameter when using CTL’s proprietary BioLux™ illumination system. Standard lighting allows detection of microbial colonies as small as 100 microns in diameter.

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What plate formats can I use with BioSpot® systems?

CTL’s BioSpot® platform is compatible with all microplate formats, as well as 60 and 100 mm Petri dishes. CTL’s S5 BioSpot® line offers a range of products to meet all user needs, whether a single plate type, a subset of plate types or the entire range of plate formats in a single instrument.

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Do colonies need to be stained?

Microbial colonies larger than 25 microns in diameter are easily detected with out staining when using the BioLux™ illumination system. Analyzers that use the standard SmartLux™ lighting system allow detection of microbial colonies as small as 100 microns in diameter. Cell staining is standard in mammalian colony formation assays. As mentioned above, single-cell applications require staining with a fluorescent dye.

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Can BioSpot® instruments count individual cells?

The BioSpot® S5 UV instrument can detect single cells that are stained with a fluorescent viability dye. Numerous fluorescent dyes are appropriate for single-cell detection of bacterial cells. The S5 UV instrument can be configured to detect up to 6 distinct fluorescent labels or combinations of labels. This enables detection of multiple classes of organisms within a single sample.

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What are the applications for BioSpot® systems?

CTL’s BioSpot® platform of instrumentation and software is used for microbial and mammalian colony formation assays. Bacterial colony counting is used for microbial load testing, and determination of bioburden in regulated products. Traditionally these tests are performed manually on agar in Petri dishes. The BioSpot® platform enables automatic and high throughput enumeration of bacterial colonies.

Mammalian colony formation assays are used in a variety of applications as a measure of cell survival (clonogenic assays), progenitor cell activity (stem cell assays), and mutagenic potential (genotoxic assays). CTL’s BioSpot® platform is optimized for the detection and enumeration of colonies from a single cell background.

Please refer to the BioSpot® application brochure for more information.

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