EP0333253A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Apparatus and device for detecting microorganisms
Assignee: Akzo Nobel NV
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Filing: 1989-03-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-03-06
Abstract
Abstract An instrument and a sealable, sterilizable vessel for detecting the presence of microorganisms in a specimen, the vessel containing a liquid culture medium and a sensor means with an indicator medium therein. Changes in the indicator medium resulting from pH change or change in CO₂ concentration in the medium are detected from outside the vessel.
Inventors
- 👤 James Edward Turner, Jr.
- 👤 Thurman Clay Thorpe
- 👤 Richard Cornelius Driscoll
- 👤 James Lawrence Diguiseppi, Jr.
- 👤 Michael John Calandra
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 20:40
CPC Classifications
C; C12; C12Q; C12Q1/00; C12M; C12M41/00; C12M41/26; C12M1/00; C12M1/34; C12Q1/02; C12Q1/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
148 words
A device for detecting microorganisms in a specimen comprising a sealable, sterilizable, specimen container, having an internal chamber in which a specimen may be cultured with a sterile culture medium to detect microbial contamination in the specimen and having at least one transparent section in the wall of said container, and a sensor means affixed to the internal surface of the wall of said container in the region of the transparent section, whereby changes in the appearance of the sensor means can be detected from the exterior of said container through said transparent section, said sensor means comprising an immobilized indicator medium, the indicator medium being selected for its ability to exhibit a detectable change when exposed to products of an organism's metabolic activity, said indicator medium being immobilized by the method of bonding the indicator to a support medium or encapsuling the indicator within a polymer matrix.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
148 words
A device for detecting microorganisms in a specimen comprising a sealable, sterilizable, specimen container, having an internal chamber in which a specimen may be cultured with a sterile culture medium to detect microbial contamination in the specimen and having at least one transparent section in the wall of said container, and a sensor means affixed to the internal surface of the wall of said container in the region of the transparent section, whereby changes in the appearance of the sensor means can be detected from the exterior of said container through said transparent section, said sensor means comprising an immobilized indicator medium, the indicator medium being selected for its ability to exhibit a detectable change when exposed to products of an organism's metabolic activity, said indicator medium being immobilized by the method of bonding the indicator to a support medium or encapsuling the indicator within a polymer matrix.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The device of claim 1, wherein the indicator medium is a molecular species responsive to pH.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor means comprises a charged membrane.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The device of claim 1, wherein the membrane of the sensor means is bonded to the interior surface of said container.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The device of claim 4, wherein the membrane of the sensor means is at least circumferentially bonded to the interior surface of the container, whereby neither the specimen nor the culture medium can pass between the membrane and the container surface.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor means is separated from the specimen in said container by a semipermeable membrane.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
The device of claim 6, wherein the semipermeable membrane comprises a membrane formed in situ.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor means comprises micelles of indicator medium immobilized within a polymer matrix.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The device of claim 8, wherein the micelles of indicator medium within the polymer matrix have been formed by the method of emulsifying an indicator solution within an uncured polymer and curing the polymer.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
167 words
A method for detecting microorganisms in a specimen, comprising the steps of introducing the specimen under sterile conditions into a sterile specimen container, the specimen container having at least one transparent section in the wall thereof and a sensor means containing an indicator medium that exhibits a detectable change when exposed to gaseous products of an organism's metabolic activity affixed to the internal surface of the wall of the container in the region of the transparent section, incubating the specimen in the specimen container with a microbial growth medium with the specimen container oriented in such a position that the sensor means is submerged completely beneath the specimen and growth medium, and monitoring from outside the container through the transparent section thereof the production of gaseous products of an organism's metabolic activity without violating the integrity of the container by detecting changes exhibited in the indicator medium in the sensor means resulting from the gaseous products passing from the specimen and growth medium to the sensor means.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
167 words
A method for detecting microorganisms in a specimen, comprising the steps of introducing the specimen under sterile conditions into a sterile specimen container, the specimen container having at least one transparent section in the wall thereof and a sensor means containing an indicator medium that exhibits a detectable change when exposed to gaseous products of an organism's metabolic activity affixed to the internal surface of the wall of the container in the region of the transparent section, incubating the specimen in the specimen container with a microbial growth medium with the specimen container oriented in such a position that the sensor means is submerged completely beneath the specimen and growth medium, and monitoring from outside the container through the transparent section thereof the production of gaseous products of an organism's metabolic activity without violating the integrity of the container by detecting changes exhibited in the indicator medium in the sensor means resulting from the gaseous products passing from the specimen and growth medium to the sensor means.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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