JP2017070231A - Liquid monitoring system and liquid monitoring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid monitoring system capable of efficiently capturing the liquid when microbial contamination occurs.SOLUTION: A liquid monitoring system comprises a microorganism detection device 20 which detects microorganisms contained in a liquid by irradiating the liquid with light and detecting fluorescence emitted by the microorganisms contained in the liquid, and a capturing part 30 which captures a liquid when the microorganism detection device 20 detects more microorganisms than a standard. The microorganism detection device 20 is provided in a main pipe 1 where liquid flows, and when the microorganism detection device 20 detects more microorganisms than a standard, the capturing part 30 may introduce the liquid flowing in the main pipe 1 into a branch pipe 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a quality evaluation technique, and more particularly to a liquid monitoring system and a liquid monitoring method.

  For liquids such as purified water, pharmaceutical water, and water for injection, treatment standard values for microorganisms are determined by the pharmacopoeia. These liquids are manufactured using, for example, a distillation method, an ultrafiltration method, a reverse osmosis membrane method, and the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5). During production, these liquids are monitored for conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) content and quality controlled. For pharmaceutical water, in particular, water for injection, a strict management standard value is established that the allowable generation amount of microorganisms is 10 CFU / 100 mL or less. In addition, CFU (Colony Forming Unit) is a unit of the number of colonies which microorganisms form on a culture medium. Even in purified water for pharmaceutical use, a stricter control standard value than drinking water is set, in which the allowable generation amount of microorganisms is 100 CFU / 100 mL or less. If it is suspected that microbial contamination has occurred in the liquid, concentrate the liquid sample collected over time, analyze and identify the microorganisms contained in the liquid, and investigate the cause of the microbial contamination. (For example, refer to Patent Document 6).

Japanese Patent No. 2997099 International Publication No. 2008/038575 JP 2012-192315 A JP 2003-260463 A JP 2014-135935 A JP 2008-224271 A

  The liquid sample collected over time may contain a large amount of liquid when microbial contamination has not occurred. Therefore, the liquid sample collected over time may have a low microorganism concentration, and it is necessary to concentrate at a high magnification for analysis and identification of microorganisms. However, the concentration of liquid is time consuming and time consuming. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid monitoring system and a liquid monitoring method capable of efficiently collecting a liquid when microbial contamination occurs.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, (a) a microorganism detecting device that detects a microorganism contained in a liquid by irradiating the liquid with light and detecting fluorescence emitted by the microorganism contained in the liquid; A liquid monitoring system is provided that includes a collection unit that collects a liquid when the apparatus detects a microorganism that exceeds a reference.

  In the above-described liquid monitoring system, the microorganism detection device is provided in the main pipe through which the liquid flows, and when the microorganism detection device detects microorganisms exceeding the reference, the collection unit removes the liquid flowing through the main pipe. You may lead to a tributary pipe. The collection unit may include a pipe switching mechanism that guides the liquid flowing through the main pipe to the tributary pipe when the microorganism detection apparatus detects microorganisms that exceed the reference. The pipe switching mechanism may be a valve.

  In the liquid monitoring system, the collection unit may include a collection container that collects the liquid guided to the branch pipe. You may further provide the incubator which culture | cultivates the microorganisms in the liquid collected by the collection part.

  In the above liquid monitoring system, the liquid may be pharmaceutical water, water for injection, or purified water.

  Moreover, according to the aspect of the present invention, (a) the liquid is irradiated with light, the fluorescence emitted by the microorganisms contained in the liquid is detected, and the microorganisms contained in the liquid are detected; A liquid monitoring method comprising: collecting a liquid when detecting the microorganisms.

  In the above liquid monitoring method, a microorganism detecting device for detecting microorganisms is provided in the main pipe through which the liquid flows, and when the microorganism detecting device detects microorganisms that exceed the reference, the liquid is collected. The liquid flowing through the pipe may be guided to the tributary pipe. The liquid flowing through the main pipe may be guided to the branch pipe by the pipe switching mechanism. The pipe switching mechanism may be a valve.

  In the above liquid monitoring method, the liquid guided to the tributary pipe may be collected by a collection container. The method may further comprise culturing the microorganism in the collected liquid.

  In the liquid monitoring method, the liquid may be pharmaceutical water, water for injection, or purified water.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a liquid monitoring system and a liquid monitoring method capable of efficiently collecting a liquid when microbial contamination occurs.

It is a mimetic diagram of a liquid monitoring system concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a graph which shows the fluorescence intensity for every kind of microorganisms concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows typically the relation between the particle size of microorganisms in the liquid concerning an embodiment of the invention, and fluorescence intensity.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, the drawings are schematic. Therefore, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in light of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid monitoring system according to the embodiment irradiates the liquid with light, detects fluorescence emitted by the microorganisms contained in the liquid, and detects the microorganisms contained in the liquid. And a collection unit 30 that collects a liquid when the microorganism detection device 20 detects microorganisms that exceed the reference.

  The microorganism detection apparatus 20 is provided in the main pipe 1 through which the liquid flows. Examples of liquids include, but are not limited to, purified water, pharmaceutical water, and water for injection that are being manufactured or manufactured. A branch pipe 2 is connected to the main pipe 1 on the downstream side of the microorganism detection device 20. At least one of the main pipe 1 and the branch pipe 2 is provided with a pipe switching mechanism 3 for guiding the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1 to the branch pipe 2. At the end of the tributary pipe 2, a collection container 5 that collects the liquid guided to the tributary pipe 2 is disposed. The pipe switching mechanism 3, the tributary pipe 2, and the collection container 5 constitute at least a part of the collection unit 30.

  As the microorganism detection apparatus 20, an apparatus disclosed in US Pat. No. 7430046 can be used, but is not limited thereto. For example, the microorganism detection apparatus 20 includes a light source such as a laser. The light source irradiates light such as laser light toward the liquid. The light may be visible light or ultraviolet light. When the light is visible light, the wavelength of the light is in the range of 400 to 550 nm, for example, 405 nm. When the light is ultraviolet light, the wavelength of the light is in the range of 310 to 380 nm, for example, 340 nm. In addition, the microorganism detection apparatus 20 includes an optical system that focuses the irradiation light, a pipe that allows liquid to pass through the focus, and the like.

  Here, when a microorganism containing bacteria is contained in the liquid, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, riboflavin, and the like contained in the microorganism irradiated with light emit fluorescence. In addition, when the liquid contains particles containing microorganisms and non-living matter, the light hitting the particles is scattered by Mie scattering, and scattered light is generated.

  Examples of bacteria include gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria, and fungi including mold spores. Examples of gram-negative bacteria include E. coli. Examples of gram positive bacteria include Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis spores, Micrococcus, and Corynebacterium. Examples of fungi containing mold spores include Aspergillus. However, the microorganisms detected by the microorganism detection apparatus 20 are not limited to these.

  The microorganism detection apparatus 20 further includes a fluorescence detector and a scattered light detector. The fluorescence detector detects fluorescence emitted by microorganisms and measures fluorescence intensity. The number of microorganisms contained in the liquid can be measured from the number of times the fluorescence detector detects fluorescence. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the intensity of the fluorescence emitted by the microorganism varies depending on the type of the microorganism. Therefore, it is possible to specify the type of microorganisms contained in the liquid from the intensity of fluorescence detected by the fluorescence detector of the microorganism detection apparatus 20 shown in FIG.

  The scattered light detector detects light scattered by the particles contained in the liquid. The number of particles can be measured from the number of times the scattered light detector detects the scattered light. Further, the intensity of the scattered light by the particles correlates with the particle size of the particles. Therefore, the particle size of the particles contained in the liquid can be obtained by detecting the intensity of the scattered light with the scattered light detector. In addition, the particle size of the microorganism varies depending on the type of microorganism. Therefore, it is possible to identify the type of microorganisms contained in the liquid from the intensity of the scattered light detected by the scattered light detector.

  When the scattered light detector detects the scattered light and the fluorescence detector does not detect the fluorescence, it can be seen that the particles contained in the liquid are non-biological particles. When the scattered light detector detects the scattered light and the fluorescence detector detects the fluorescence, it can be seen that the liquid contains microorganisms. Here, the non-biological particles include harmless or harmful chemical substances, dust, dust, dust and the like.

  The microorganism detection apparatus 20 specifies the type of microorganisms contained in the liquid using at least one of the particle diameters based on the detected fluorescence intensity and scattered light intensity. Methods for identifying the type of microorganism based on both fluorescence intensity and scattered light intensity are disclosed in, but not limited to, US Pat. No. 6,885,440 and US Pat. No. 7,106,442. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a correlation between the particle diameter and the fluorescence intensity depending on the type of microorganism. Therefore, by acquiring a graph as shown in FIG. 3 in advance, it is possible to specify the type of microorganism from the fluorescence intensity and the particle size.

  Further, the microorganism detection apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 1 specifies the number of microorganisms contained in a liquid of a predetermined volume, using at least one of the number of times of fluorescence detection and the number of times of scattered light detection. The flow rate of the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1 can be measured with a flow meter. Note that the microorganism detection apparatus 20 may specify the concentration of microorganisms in the liquid as the number of microorganisms contained in the liquid having a predetermined volume.

  A central processing unit (CPU) 300 is connected to the microorganism detection device 20. The microorganism detection apparatus 20 transmits the identified microorganism type and the number of microorganisms contained in a predetermined volume of liquid to the CPU 300 in real time. If the number of microorganisms can be specified but the type of microorganism cannot be specified, the microorganism detection apparatus 20 uses a signal indicating that the type of microorganism cannot be specified, and the microorganism included in the liquid of a predetermined volume. Is sent to the CPU 300.

A reference storage device 351 is connected to the CPU 300. The reference storage device 351 stores the number of microorganisms serving as a reference value for determining that microbial contamination has occurred in the liquid.
The reference value is appropriately set with reference to, for example, the reference value for microbial contamination described in the pharmacopoeia. The CPU 300 includes a comparison unit 301. The comparison unit 301 compares the number of microorganisms detected by the microorganism detection device with the reference value stored in the reference storage device 351.

  If the number of microorganisms detected by the microorganism detection device 20 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the comparison unit 301 may determine that microbial contamination has occurred in the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1. When the number of microorganisms detected by the microorganism detection apparatus 20 is less than the reference value, the comparison unit 301 determines that microbial contamination has not occurred in the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1.

  The CPU 300 further includes a control unit 302. When the number of microorganisms detected by the microorganism detection apparatus 20 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the control unit 302 controls the pipe switching mechanism 3 to guide the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1 to the tributary pipe 2, Is collected in the collection container 5.

  As the pipe switching mechanism 3, a two-way valve, a three-way valve, a combination thereof, or the like can be used. Examples of the valve driving method include electric driving and air driving. The types of valves include gate valves, globe valves, check valves, hall valves, butterfly valves, and lambda valves.

  For example, a two-way valve is provided in the main pipe 1 downstream from the branch point of the main pipe 1 and the branch pipe 2, and when the number of microorganisms detected is greater than or equal to a reference value, the two-way valve is closed and the main pipe 1 The liquid that has been flowing through the pipe may be guided to the tributary pipe 2. Alternatively, a two-way valve may be provided in the tributary pipe 2, and when the number of microorganisms detected is equal to or greater than a reference value, the two-way valve may be opened and the liquid flowing through the main pipe 1 may be guided to the tributary pipe 2. . Alternatively, a three-way valve is provided at the branch point between the main pipe 1 and the tributary pipe 2, and when the number of microorganisms detected is equal to or greater than the reference value, the main pipe 1 and the tributary pipe 2 are communicated with each other. The flowing liquid may be guided to the tributary pipe 2.

  The branch pipe 2 may be provided with a flow meter for measuring the amount of liquid collected in the collection container 5. The amount of liquid collected in the collection container 5 is appropriately set depending on the type of liquid. For example, when the liquid is purified water, it is collected in units of 1 mL, and when the liquid is water for injection, it is collected in units of 100 mL, but is not limited thereto.

  An input device 321 and an output device 322 are connected to the CPU 300. A keyboard and a mouse can be used for the input device 321. The input device 321 is used when storing a reference value in the reference storage device 351, for example. The output device 322 can be a display, a speaker, or the like. For example, the output device 322 outputs the comparison result of the comparison unit 301.

  According to the liquid monitoring system according to the embodiment, the liquid can be collected in the collection container 5 only when microorganisms are detected in the liquid. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently analyze a liquid in which microbial contamination has occurred. For example, the microorganisms in the collected liquid may be subjected to microscopic analysis, gene analysis, and the like. This makes it possible to identify the type of microorganism in the liquid with higher accuracy and to identify the source of the microorganism.

  Conventionally, when microbial contamination of a liquid is detected, since it is not known when the microbial contamination has occurred, a large amount of liquid is concentrated to analyze the microorganisms. On the other hand, according to the liquid monitoring system according to the embodiment, when the microbial contamination of the liquid is detected, it is possible to immediately collect the liquid in which the microbial contamination has occurred. Since the concentration of microorganisms in the collected liquid in which microbial contamination has occurred is high, microorganisms can be analyzed by omitting the concentration step.

  The liquid monitoring system according to the embodiment may further include an incubator that cultures microorganisms in the liquid collected by the collection unit 30. For example, by inoculating the medium with at least a part of the liquid collected in the collection container 5 or collecting bacteria using a membrane filter and culturing the microorganisms, the genus, species, etc. of the microorganisms can be changed. It can be verified by visual observation, an optical microscope, a fluorescent microscope, or the like. In addition, by analyzing the gene sequence of a microorganism grown in culture, the genus, species, and other types of microorganisms may be identified.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main pipe 2 Tributary pipe 3 Pipe switching mechanism 5 Collection container 20 Microorganism detection apparatus 30 Collection part 300 Central processing unit 301 Comparison part 302 Control part 321 Input device 322 Output device 351 Reference storage device

Claims (18)

A microorganism detecting device for irradiating the liquid with light, detecting fluorescence emitted by the microorganisms contained in the liquid, and detecting the microorganisms contained in the liquid;
When the microorganism detection device detects a microorganism above the standard, a collection unit for collecting the liquid,
A liquid monitoring system comprising: The microorganism detection device is provided in a main pipe through which the liquid flows;
When the microorganism detection device detects a microorganism above the standard, the collection unit guides the liquid flowing through the main pipe to a branch pipe,
The liquid monitoring system according to claim 1.   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the collection unit includes a pipe switching mechanism that guides the liquid flowing through the main pipe to the tributary pipe when the microorganism detection apparatus detects a microorganism that exceeds a reference. .   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the pipe switching mechanism is a valve.   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the collection unit includes a collection container that collects the liquid guided to the tributary pipe.   The liquid monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an incubator for culturing microorganisms in the liquid collected by the collecting unit.   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is pharmaceutical water.   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is water for injection.   The liquid monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is purified water. Irradiating the liquid with light, detecting fluorescence emitted by microorganisms contained in the liquid, and detecting the microorganisms contained in the liquid;
Collecting the liquid when detecting the microorganism above a reference; and
A liquid monitoring method comprising: The microorganism detecting device for detecting the microorganism is provided in a main pipe through which the liquid flows,
When the microorganism detection apparatus detects microorganisms that are above the reference, in collecting the liquid, the liquid that was flowing through the main pipe is guided to a branch pipe,
The liquid monitoring method according to claim 10.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 11, wherein the liquid flowing through the main pipe is guided to the tributary pipe by a pipe switching mechanism.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 12, wherein the pipe switching mechanism is a valve.   The liquid monitoring method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the liquid guided to the branch pipe is collected by a collection container.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 10, further comprising culturing a microorganism in the collected liquid.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 10, wherein the liquid is pharmaceutical water.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 10, wherein the liquid is water for injection.   The liquid monitoring method according to claim 10, wherein the liquid is purified water.

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