Synbiosis, a long-established manufacturer of automated microbiological systems based in Cambridge, UK, has added the new aCOLade 2 manual colony counter with automatic count recording to its portfolio for microbiology laboratories.
Featuring a long-life LED light pad with pressure-controlled back plate, the flexible aCOLade 2 colony counter has well-designed dish adaptors that can be easily altered to hold 50mm or 90mm diameter plates. The new counter is quick and easy to use and microbiologists simply touch the Petri dish’s lid with a felt tipped pen to count a colony, an audible bleep then sounds and the data is automatically added and displayed on the integrated digital counter.
To improve accuracy, the glare-free LED light pad comes with an easy fit black background for viewing translucent colonies, Wolfhuegel graticules to track count areas, and the option to add a magnifying lens over the pad. These features enable microbiologists to see small colonies, as well as distinguish between colonies and debris or a bubble in the media, ensuring the most precise counts.
To automatically record results, aCOLade 2 is simply connected via the USB cable supplied to microbiologists’ own tablets, PCs or printers allowing them to store or print their counts. Since the data can be instantly recorded, this saves time and also improves accuracy by reducing the risk of keying errors.
'Many food or environmental testing labs 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 recorded,' said Kate George, Senior Divisional Manager at Synbiosis. 'We’re confident our new aCOLade 2 offers these features, making it the must-have budget system for any microbiologist looking for a reliable colony counter.'
