Mettler Toledo Thornton, a supplier of online analytical instruments for monitoring purified water, has added the 7000RMS analyser to its portfolio.
The instrument offers realtime, continuous measurement of bioburden in the pharmaceutical industry.
On-line monitoring of conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) for water used in pharmaceutical applications have been possible since 1996.
However, determining microbial contamination has almost entirely relied on laboratory measurement of cultures. The time taken to grow cultures, and the multiple testing of points-of-use, results in delays in identifying microbial excursions.
The 7000RMS provides continuous analysis of microbial and inert particle contamination wherever required in a water system or at point-of-use. The compact unit not only provides realtime assessment of water loop bioburden levels, but also lowers labour costs through reduced sampling and testing, cuts energy use through better management of sanitisation cycles, and leads to increased process understanding and product safety.
Unlike other modern techniques for measuring microbes in water, the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technology employed in the 7000RMS does not require time-consuming staining or use of reagents. The implementation of LIF in the analyser, in conjunction with Mie scattering detection and advanced software algorithms, allows the simultaneous measurement of particle numbers and determination of whether particles are microbes or inert material.
The analyser is suitable for online and at-line use, and for lab measurements of grab samples. It features a touchscreen user interface with multiple data communication options.