Leading range of online water monitors expanded to include bacterial monitoring capabilities

Aqualabo have recently introduced some new products to add to their range of on-line biomonitoring systems. As the exclusive distributor of microLAN company, Aqualabo has significantly expanded its range for water quality monitoring with total bacteria activity and toxicity measurements devices in several applications, both in the field and in laboratory.

The presence in water of E.coli and coliform bacteria is an indicator that other pathogenic organism of faecal origin may be present. Therefore, routinely worldwide, monitoring of coliforms and E.coli takes place in potable water, among other waters e.g. surface water, produced water, industrial water and even waste water.

The BACTcontrol detects the microbiological activity in water and produces a result within 90 minutes. Normally, such a measurement is done on the basis of a sample examined in a laboratory, which can take up to three days. The system is online and automated and it measures the specific enzymatic activities of β-galactosidase (coliforms), β-glucuronidase (E.coli), ß-Glucosidase (enterococci) and alkaline phosphatase (total activity, biomass), as an indicator of the presence of bacterial contamination. The enzyme activity is detected by adding reagents (consumables) which contain a fluorescent indicator. The reagents are substrate-specific for the enzyme to be detected, meaning that there is an increase in fluorescence when the enzyme is present in the sample.

The iTOXcontrol is a unique system for on-line monitoring of the toxicity of waste, surface, drinking or process water. It is an early warning system to signal sudden peak values of chemical and other toxic pollutants, like heavy metals, within 15 minutes. In any event or breakdown it is possible to act

within minutes, compared to routinely measured parameters that take hours or sometimes days to signal sudden changes in the water quality. Due to iTOXcontrol’s capability to give a rapid and early warning, it is possible to

limit potential damage or restrict the pollution down to a small section of the drinking water distribution network. Another great advantage of bio-monitoring is the wide range of pollutants that can be measured in the low milligram range. With other types of measuring equipment, it is impossible to continuously monitor the many thousands of different chemical pollutants, as well as the combinations, likely to be present in the water sample.

The integration of different optional sensors is now also possible which creates a combined system for early warning and water quality monitoring, such as an optional UV-VIS sensor or an optional algae sensor for Chlorophyll-a and blue-green algae.

MicroLan’s TOXmini is a portable and easy to use system for toxicity measurements in a wide variety of samples and applications. It automatically measures the luminescent effect of the Vibrio fisheri and will give an indication when the tested sample is toxic. It can be used in the laboratory (also in combination with the optional cooling block) and as a field system running on the recharchable internal batteries. It is also an ideal solution to be used on conjunction with the TOXcontrol because it uses the same reagents (freeze dried bacteria, blank solution and positive control).