A peristaltic pump forms the heart of a new rigorous food sample
analysis system
Food samples are routinely tested for the presence of various pathogens
but most conventional rapid techniques analyse just a fraction of the
standard 25g sample. A relatively new system from Matrix Microscience,
however, is able to circulate the entire 25g sample, and can detect the
presence of pathogens, even when there is just one organism present in
the sample.
The Pathatrix analyser comprises five independent testing stations within
one housing, and each uses a Watson-Marlow type 313D peristaltic pump to
circulate the samples of a wide variety of food products, in liquid and
slurry form. The beauty of the peristaltic pump in this type of
application is its very low maintenance requirement. Matrix supplies
proprietary consumable silicone tubing packs with its analysers, which
are used once only for a particular sample and then discarded. This
ensures that there is no possibility of cross contamination between
samples.
According to Matrix Microscience managing director, Adrian Parton, the
Watson-Marlow pumpheads are key to the success of the Pathatrix system.
One of its benefits is that it needs only around two minutes of hands-on
time, thanks to the 313D's 'flip-top' design and automatic tube
tensioning. We did evaluate several alternatives, Dr Parton recalls.
Nonetheless, the Watson-Marlow units appeared to be the most robust, and
their longevity has now been proven in the field. In two years, we have
not had a single problem.