JP2009232744A - System for measuring microorganisms - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for measuring microorganisms, capable of measuring and controlling unspecified microorganisms by using the ATP method. <P>SOLUTION: The system includes a suction means sucking a sample through a suction hole 14, a collecting means 22 collecting microorganisms in the sucked sample on a predetermined carrier, a luminous reaction means 24 luminously reacting ATP in the cells of the microorganism by supplying a predetermined reagent to the collected microorganisms, an optical measurement means 28 measuring emission intensity of the microorganism luminously reacted, an arithmetic and control device 30 converting the measured value of the measured emission intensity to the APT amount and the cell number of an optional microorganism and changing operation conditions based on the converted value, and a bactericidal mechanism 50 performing bactericidal treatment of the inside of the measuring device 20 and giving the measuring device 20 the pure air applicable to zero calibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a microorganism measurement system, and more particularly to a microorganism measurement system using an ATP method.

  The measurement of the number of microorganisms is important in fields such as food hygiene and pharmaceutical environment, and it is required to measure microorganisms in products and the environment online using a highly sensitive and rapid method.

  Known methods for measuring microorganisms include a colony counting method using an agar medium and a turbidity method using a liquid medium. However, these methods have a problem that the culture takes a time from one day to several days. Furthermore, the turbidity method has a problem that it is impossible to distinguish dead bacteria and dust from live bacteria.

  On the other hand, in recent years, as a rapid and highly sensitive method for measuring microorganisms, a method of specifically labeling the constituents of microbial cells using a luminescent reagent or fluorescent reagent and measuring the luminescence intensity to determine the number of microorganisms Has been proposed. Among these, the ATP method is a method in which the chemical substance ATP (adenoline-3-phosphate) which is always contained in living cells is used as an indicator of the number of microorganisms. If this method is used, the number of microorganisms can be measured in several to several tens of minutes.

  As described in Patent Document 1, the ATP method uses bioluminescence by luciferase that is an enzyme derived from a living organism and luciferin that is a substrate protein thereof. First, ATP is extracted from a sample containing microorganisms, then a luciferin-luciferase mixed solution is added to ATP to emit light, and the amount of ATP is determined from the emission intensity.

  Since the amount of ATP per cell contained in microbial cells varies depending on the type of microorganism, it can be converted into the number of microbial cells using a calibration curve prepared using a sample containing a known amount of microorganisms.

ATP is also contained in cells other than microorganisms. In addition, since ATP is released from dead cells into the environment, ATP is also present in dust and water in the air. The ATP method described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 selectively extracts ATP derived from cells other than microorganisms, erases this and free ATP with an ATP decomposition reagent, and then extracts microorganism-derived ATP. By emitting light, only the amount of ATP derived from the target microorganism is measured to determine the amount of microorganism.
Japanese Patent No. 3070780 Japanese Patent No. 2905727 JP 2001-136999 A

  However, in the above-described method, ATP derived from microorganisms mixed during a series of processes from collecting microorganisms in a sample to a carrier to measuring luminescence cannot be removed.

  Moreover, since ATP mixed after erasing ATP with an ATP decomposing reagent is also included in the luminescence measurement sample, there is a problem that ATP derived from the original microorganism of the sample may not be measured accurately.

  Further, for the possibility of such contamination, it is necessary to confirm that ATP is not detected when clean air containing no microorganisms is used as a sample. However, in the conventional method, zero calibration is performed using sterile water as a sample. For this reason, there has been a problem that there is no method for reliably ensuring that no contamination of contamination occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by providing clean air for zero calibration that prevents contamination of microorganisms and ensures that there is no contamination, microorganism measurement with high accuracy is achieved. The purpose is to provide a system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a microorganism measurement system of the present invention includes a suction means for sucking a sample from a suction port, a measurement unit, and the measurement unit collects the microorganisms in the sucked sample on a predetermined carrier. A collecting means, a luminescence reaction means for causing a luminescence reaction of ATP in the cells of the microorganism by supplying a predetermined reagent to the collected microorganism, and an optical for measuring the luminescence intensity of the microorganism subjected to the luminescence reaction Measuring means, and a calculation control means for converting the measured value of the luminescence intensity measured by the optical measuring means into the amount of ATP and the number of cells of an arbitrary microorganism, and changing the operating conditions based on these converted values And a sterilization mechanism for sterilizing the inside of the measurement unit and providing clean air applicable to zero calibration to the measurement unit.

  According to the invention, by sterilizing the inside of the measurement unit, it is possible to reduce the possibility of contamination in a series of processes from collection of microorganisms in the sample to the carrier to measurement of luminescence. In addition, clean air that does not contain microorganisms created by the sterilization mechanism is supplied as a sample to the measurement unit, and ATP measurement is performed. It is ensured that no contamination of contamination occurs in the series of processes.

  The microorganism measurement system of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-described invention, the number of microorganisms in the sample can be switched between conversion processing, sterilization processing, and zero calibration processing.

  Since each process of conversion processing, sterilization processing, and zero calibration processing can be switched according to the number of cells of microorganisms, each processing can be performed reliably.

  The microorganism measuring system of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the sterilization mechanism includes a sterilization unit that generates a sterilizing chemical substance, radical, ion, or electric field.

  As the sterilization mechanism, a sterilization unit that generates chemical substances, radicals, ions, or an electric field can be preferably used.

  According to the present invention, by sterilizing the inside of the measurement unit, it is possible to reduce the possibility of contamination in a series of processes from collection of microorganisms in the sample to the carrier to measurement of luminescence, ATP measurement can be performed with a measurement unit using clean air that does not contain microorganisms created by this sterilization mechanism as a sample, and it can be assured that no contamination of contamination occurs in a series of processes.

  A preferred embodiment of a microorganism measurement system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the microorganism measuring system. The microorganism measurement system 10 shown in the figure is a system for measuring floating microorganisms floating in a target chamber 12, and a measurement port 14 and a sensor 16 are provided inside the target chamber 12.

  The sensor 16 is a sensor that senses the presence of a person in the target room 12 and is electrically connected to an arithmetic / control mechanism 30 of the measurement unit 20 described later. The measurement port 14 is an opening for sucking airborne microorganisms together with air, and is connected to the collection mechanism 22 of the measurement unit 20 via the conveyance path 18.

  The measurement unit 20 includes a collection mechanism 22, a reaction mechanism 24, a reagent supply mechanism 26, an optical measurement mechanism 28, and a calculation / control mechanism 30, and the transport path 18 described above is connected to the collection mechanism 22. The collection mechanism 22 is a device that collects microorganisms floating in the air on a predetermined carrier, and the collected microorganisms are sent to a supply pipe 34 by a pump 32. The supply pipe 34 is connected to a reaction vessel 36 of the reaction mechanism 24, and microorganisms are supplied to the reaction vessel 36 to detect ATP.

  A reagent supply mechanism 26 is connected to the reaction container 36, and the luciferin-luciferase mixed solution is added to the reaction container 36 by the reagent supply mechanism 26. Thus, in the reaction mechanism 24, ATP is extracted from the microorganism and a bioluminescence reaction is performed by adding the luciferin-luciferase mixed solution.

  An optical measurement mechanism 28 is connected to the reaction vessel 36 of the reaction mechanism 24, and the light emission amount of the bioluminescence reaction in the reaction vessel 36 is measured by the optical measurement mechanism 28. The optical measurement mechanism 28 is electrically connected to the calculation / control mechanism 30, and the measurement value data of the optical measurement mechanism 28 is output to the calculation / control mechanism 30 and displayed on the display mechanism 40.

  An input mechanism 38 is connected to the calculation / control mechanism 30, and a reference value or the like necessary for calculation is input by the input mechanism 38 prior to measurement. The calculation / control mechanism 30 performs control based on the data input by the input mechanism 38, the measured value of the sensor 16, and the emission intensity measured by the optical measurement mechanism 28.

  FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing the configuration of the sterilization mechanism 50. The sterilization mechanism 50 includes a sterilization unit 55, a blower mechanism 54, and an air supply port 53, and is connected to the measurement port 14, the reaction mechanism 24, and ducts 57 and 58.

  The sterilization unit 55 generates chemical substances, radicals, ions, electric fields, and the like that can sterilize the inside of the circulation duct formed by the ducts 57 and 58, the conveyance path 18, and the supply pipe 34. The blower mechanism 54 conveys air containing microorganisms in the circulation duct to the sterilization unit 55, supplies clean air sterilized by the sterilization unit 55 to the conveyance path 18, and takes in outside air from the air supply port 53.

  The air supply port 53 is an outside air intake port for supplying clean air for zero calibration, and the outside air is taken in through the HEPA filter.

  Airtight valves 52, 56, and 51 are provided between the ducts 57 and 58 and the connection portion between the measurement port 14 and the reaction mechanism 24, and between the measurement port 14 and the target chamber 12, respectively. Open and close accordingly.

  Next, the operation of the microorganism measuring system 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the table | surface of FIG. 3 has shown the state of each part of the sterilization mechanism in each operation state.

  At the time of sample measurement, the airtight valves 52 and 56 and the air supply port 53 are closed, and the air blowing mechanism 54 and the sterilization unit 55 are stopped. The airtight valve 51 of the measurement port 14 is open, and the sample air reaches the collection mechanism 22 from the measurement port 14 via the transport path 18, and is collected by the collection mechanism 22 and ATP-extracted by the reaction mechanism 24. After the light emission measurement in the measurement mechanism 28, the result is displayed on the display mechanism 40.

  In the calculation / control mechanism 30, for example, the following processing is performed.

First, in performing the control, an allowable cleanliness A (CFU / m ³ ) and an ATP amount B (mol / CFU) per microorganism cell are set. The permissible cleanliness A, a cleanliness of permissible value of the target chamber 12 (microbial concentration standard), for example in the case of a sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing facility is set to 5 CFU / m ³ is Grade B.

The ATP amount B per microorganism cell is generally a value of microorganisms present as airborne bacteria, and for example, 7.13 is applied as a value of Bacillus subtilis (Bacillus spizizenii) ATCC 9372, which is a general indoor environmental bacterium. The ATP amount B per microorganism cell varies depending on the type of microorganism as shown in N. hattori et al./Analytical Biochemistry 319 287-295 (2003). The table in FIG. 4 shows an example of the amount of ATP per cell in general indoor environmental bacteria. In this embodiment, a microorganism is selected by selecting a target microorganism from the microorganisms in Table 1. The ATP amount B per cell is determined. In addition, selection of microorganisms is good to measure the floating microbe of the target room 12 with another apparatus, and to select the measured microorganism. Moreover, you may make it select a microorganism for every measurement with the input mechanism 38 grade | etc.,. However, when the microorganism (content of the sample) is completely unknown, 1 mol (1 × 10 ⁻¹⁸ mol) is input as a general value indicating the ATP amount B per cell of the microorganism.

Next, the ATP amount converted value X (mol / m ³ ) is calculated using the emission intensity. Then, using the calculated conversion value X, the bacterial count conversion value P (= X / B) is calculated, and the bacterial count conversion value P is displayed on the display mechanism 40.

  As described above, the calculation / control mechanism 30 records the management reference value and measurement conditions input from the input mechanism 38 and the measurement condition information input from the sensor 16 in addition to the emission intensity received from the optical measurement mechanism 28. In addition to converting the luminescence intensity into the amount of ATP and the number of cells of any microorganism, the operating conditions are changed (for example, to increase the measurement frequency) according to the statistically processed numerical values, and the microorganisms grow abnormally. If it does, an error message is displayed. That is, when the number of microorganisms exceeds the standard, when the number of microorganisms greatly increases in a short time, or when the number of microorganisms increases over a long period of time, this can be detected and an error message can be displayed. .

  Next, at the time of blank measurement for zero calibration, the airtight valves 51 and 56 are closed, and the airtight valve 52 and the air supply port 53 are opened. Further, the blower mechanism 54 and the sterilization unit 55 are operated. The air passes through the HEPA filter from the air supply port 53 and enters the sterilization mechanism 50, is sterilized by the sterilization unit 55 to become clean air, and then is supplied to the conveyance path 18 and reaches the collection mechanism 22. The subsequent collection, ATP extraction, and luminescence measurement after the air blowing mechanism are the same as described above. Based on these measurement results, zero calibration is performed on the measurement unit 20.

  By providing clean air for zero calibration that guarantees no contamination of contamination, highly accurate microbe measurement can be performed.

  Blank measurement for zero calibration is performed automatically or manually by the sterilization unit 55 based on the sterilized clean air.

  During the sterilization process, the airtight valve 51 and the air supply port 53 are closed, and the airtight valves 52 and 56 are opened. Further, the blower mechanism 54 and the sterilization unit 55 are operated. At this time, the circulation duct constituted by the ducts 57 and 58, the conveyance path 18, and the supply pipe 34 is a closed system. The air in the circulation duct is repeatedly sterilized by the sterilization unit 55 while being circulated by the blower mechanism 54.

  The sterilization process is performed automatically or manually.

  In the ATP method, the present invention reduces the possibility of contamination in a series of processes from collection of microorganisms in a sample to a carrier to measurement of luminescence, and ensures that contamination is not occurring. In particular, when a minute amount of microorganisms is detected or measured using high clean air as a sample, this can be detected or measured with high accuracy.

  Therefore, it is expected as a method for measuring and managing microorganisms in a wide range of fields such as pharmaceutical factories, medical engineering research facilities, hospitals, and food factories.

Configuration diagram schematically showing a microorganism measurement system according to the present invention The figure which shows the structure of the sterilization mechanism which concerns on this invention The figure which shows the state of each part of the sterilization mechanism in each operation state Table showing the types of microorganisms and the amount of ATP

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Microorganism measurement system, 12 ... Object chamber, 14 ... Measurement port, 16 ... Sensor, 18 ... Transport path, 20 ... Measurement unit, 22 ... Collection mechanism, 24 ... Reaction mechanism, 26 ... Reagent supply mechanism, 28 ... Optical Measuring mechanism 30 ... Calculation / control mechanism 32 ... Pump 34 ... Supply pipe 36 ... Reaction vessel 38 ... Input mechanism 40 ... Display mechanism 50 ... Sterilization mechanism 51,52,56 ... Airtight valve 53 ... Air supply port, 54 ... Air blow mechanism, 55 ... Sterilization unit, 57, 58 ... Duct

Claims (3)

A suction means for sucking the sample from the suction port;
A measuring unit;
The measuring unit collects the microorganisms in the aspirated sample on a predetermined carrier, and supplies a predetermined reagent to the collected microorganisms to luminescence reaction of ATP in the cells of the microorganisms. The luminescence reaction means, the optical measurement means for measuring the luminescence intensity of the microorganism that has undergone the luminescence reaction, and the measured value of the luminescence intensity measured by the optical measurement means is converted into the amount of ATP and the number of cells of any microorganism. , Having an arithmetic control means for changing the operating conditions based on these converted values,
A sterilization mechanism that sterilizes the interior of the measurement unit and provides clean air applicable to zero calibration to the measurement unit;
A microbe measurement system comprising:   2. The microorganism measuring system according to claim 1, wherein the number of microorganism cells in the sample can be switched between conversion processing, sterilization processing, and zero calibration processing.   3. The microorganism measuring system according to claim 1, wherein the sterilizing mechanism includes a sterilizing unit that generates a sterilizing chemical substance, radical, ion, or electric field.

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