Phytocontrol expands its offer in food and water microbiology
Phytocontrol is expanding its range of identification of bacterial strains and yeasts by MALDI TOF technology to include moulds and fungi.
In an approach to control the risk of food contamination by pathogenic agents that can have serious consequences on consumers, it is necessary to use various state-of-the-art techniques to confirm and identify all species.
What is the MALDI TOF method ?
The MALDI TOF (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization – Time of flight) mass spectrometry method is based on the mass fingerprint identification of proteins, and allows the identification of bacteria and yeasts, as well as filamentous fungi and dermatophytes, at species level. As the masses of the proteins can vary from one species to another, the comparison of spectra leads to the differentiation of two close species.
In the case of identification, each colony is exposed to a laser beam, the proteins of the microorganisms are atomised and separated according to their mass and then measured by a detector to define characteristic profiles. These allow precise identification of a particular microorganism by comparing each profile with the Phytocontrol database, which contains more than 3000 species of bacteria and moulds !
The MALDI TOF is faster than traditional microbiology methods and has the same level of discrimination. This technology allows it to play a crucial role in microbiological controls carried out in industries requiring fast and reliable results.
The Phytocontrol solution for the identification of bacteria, moulds and filamentous fungi
Phytocontrol is able to identify strains of bacteria, yeasts, moulds and fungi by MALDI TOF from colonies originating from a selective or non-selective culture medium, in both food and water microbiology. As soon as the colonies are obtained on a culture dish, identification of the strains by MALDI TOF is carried out in just a few minutes.
This robust and reliable analytical method is a guarantee of expertise and reactivity for the Phytocontrol laboratory.
Need technical, regulatory and pricing information? Our customer service is available from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday at +44 (0) 2037 430 973 or service-clients@phytocontrol.com
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