Coliscan ^® MF and Coliscan ^® Easygel ^® Approvals for Water Testing

Coliscan^® media have been available and used for the determination of the presence/absence and quantification of E. coli and total coliforms in test samples from Micrology Laboratories LLC since 1997 under a license from RCR Scientific, Inc., who owns the patents upon which the technology is based. Prior to that time, after the 1990 filing of the first patent, RCR Scientific, Inc. marketed the technology widely in the food and beverage industries and other areas.

Currently, the Coliscan^® technology is being widely used in water testing and educational and research applications and several special government and state approvals have been granted for specific applications.

1. In December 1999, Coliscan^® Easygel^® was approved by the U.S. EPA Region 4 for use in the bacteriological monitoring of surface waters as part of the program developed by the Alabama Water Watch under the direction of Dr. William G. Deutsch of the Dept. of Fisheries of Auburn University. As a result of this program and many other studies, Coliscan^® Easygel^® has become the preferred method for bacteriological monitoring in water watch programs throughout the United States.

2. In August 2000, Micrology Laboratories received notification from the Analytical Methods Staff and the Office of Ground Water of the U.S. EPA that the technology of the Coliscan^® MF medium is acceptable for use in National Primary Drinking Water Regulation compliance monitoring as a modification of the already approved MI agar medium. We are confident that when technicians compare the Coliscan^® MF technology, ease of use and low cost per test, the Coliscan^® MF approach will be widely adopted.

3. Most recently, on Jan. 3, 2001, an announcement from the Office of Water Quality of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) was sent to all National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permittees in the state of Indiana approving the Coliscan^® MF media for E. coli detection and enumeration for the 2001 disinfection season. IDEM contacted the USEPA concerning this decision and was told that states with primacy have authority to approve or disapprove methods for this application. More information on this is available from Barbara McDowell of IDEM (email: , phone: 317-233-6464). This approval followed thorough discussion and testing of the method. A portion of the comparative work has been published in the April, 1999 issue of Water Environment and Technology, pp. 57-59, authored by A. K. Umble, L. E. Kolo, L. A. Newvine, G. N. Roth and J. N. Roth and is titled "Coliform Counts--Elkhart, Ind., tests an improved, simplified membrane filtration method for Escherichia coli detection and enumeration".

There is no other technology in the U.S. which can legally duplicate the patented technology of the Coliscan^® method, which utilizes chromogenic substrates for the enzymes glucuronidase and galactosidase that result in virtually insoluble colored chromophores that have very minimal diffusion from the colonies of target bacteria. This is a very superior approach to technologies utilizing fluorogenic substrates which result in soluble fluorophores that must be read using UV light and which diffuse rapidly out from the target bacterial colonies, and therefore are most useful in broth Presence/Absence media where quantification is not desired. It is also a superior approach to technologies utilizing pH or redox indicators which often result in high false readings as demonstrated by many published studies.

More information on Coliscan MF and Coliscan Easygel

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