Environment & Energy | Saturday 18 March, 2017 6:00 am |

Rapid and reliable on-line measurement of water quality with sensitivity more than ten times current standards is now available to the water industry. Promega Corporation and AppliTek (Belgium, Europe) are teaming to offer advanced technology for microbial pathogen monitoring of process water and drinking water sources.

The EZ-ATP® On-line Microbiology Analyzer by AppliTek now uses highly sensitive Promega ATP Water Glo™ reagent to determine microbial pathogen load in water through measurement of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is an essential element in all living cells and organisms, so even the slightest change in ATP levels acts as an early warning system to help assess microbial load and the possible presence of dangerous pathogens.

The EZ-ATP® is the first on-line system able to measure and report ATP levels according to the well-established ASTM D4012 standard for reporting live bacteria. Other analysis methods used today can take days to report a result and can miss over 90% of the total microbial population. The EZ-ATP® using Promega reagents can detect as little as 50 femtograms/ml ATP in 15 minutes saving time and labor compared to grab sampling and analysis. The partnership leverages the strengths of AppliTek as a leading-edge provider of analytical technology and Promega as the industry’s leading manufacturer of reagents.

“Combining these two capabilities allows customers to apply state-of-the-art technologies to critical real-world settings to establish improved efficiencies that may lead to enhanced control and lower operational costs,” said David Laurier, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board at AppliTek.

Automated monitoring of microbial contaminants in water sources has established new interest in the use of ATP bioluminescence, especially in the areas of drinking water safety and homeland security, but also for any industrial process where microbiological water quality is critical such as power plant cooling water or sea water desalinization. In all of these environments, corrective actions depend on timely and sensitive data. AppliTek’s EZ-ATP, working in conjunction with Promega reagents, can test every 15 minutes with one bottle of reagent lasting for up to 25 continuous days, offering a low cost of analysis and minimal reagent replacement relative to a large number of results.

“Our experience in bioluminescence for more than 25 years has allowed us to offer one of the most sensitive tools in ATP detection in the industry,” said Patrick Van de Velde, General Manager and Applied Markets Business Unit Leader at Promega. “We are excited our knowledge and experience can be applied to make this very important contribution to the water quality industry.”