Micro Solutions / Life Science

Automatic Counter Colony and Inhibition Zones ProtoCOL 3 Plus

Automated colony count and inhibition zone measurement with ±0.5 mm accuracy

Product overview

ProtoCOL 3 Plus
Synbiosis (Synoptics)
Great Britain
Synbiosis ProtoCOL
ProtoCOL 3 Plus

Automated colony count and inhibition zone measurement with ±0.5 mm accuracy

Supports more than 10 software modules: AST, inoculation, Ames, OPKA, SBA and others

Synbiosis ProtoCOL 3 Plus is an automated colony counter and zone meter that speeds up microbiological control and makes results reproducible and traceable.

The system receives a color image of the dish, automatically counts colonies and measures the inhibition zones, preserving the original image and analysis parameters. Software modules support classical and spiral inoculation, AST, Ames, OPKA, SBA, chromogenic colonies, multisector and multiwell formats; the results are exported to XLS, CSV, PDF and They can be transmitted to LIMS.

Minimum defined colony size 0.043 mm; dishes up to 150 mm and square dishes 120×120 mm. Zone measurement accuracy ±0.5 mm. 1.4 MP camera, resolution 1280×1024, triple-grabbing RGB LED for color image. Algorithm performance up to 10,000 colonies/s, digital magnification up to 100×; manual correction, separation of merged colonies and polygonal exclusion zones.

Key figures

0.043 mm

min-size

± 0.5 mm

zone-measuring

10,000/s

colony-counting

21 CFR Part 11

auditing

Applications

Microbiological quality control
Colonial accounting (purple plate, spread plate, membranes)
Inhibition and ABH zones (AST, MIC)
Spiral inoculation
Ames-test, OPKA, SBA

Models and configurations

ProtoCOL 3 Plus

Product details

Compact desktop case

45x50x40cm, 20kg

Open camera with software

Replaceable background panels, RGB LED backlighting

Accuracy and speed

Unique tricolor RGB LED lighting with auto-calibration color provides an accurate color image of the dish
Camera 1.4 MP with a resolution of 1280×1024 recognizes colonies from 0.043 mm
Measurement of inhibition zones with an accuracy of ± 0.5 mm
The algorithm processes up to 10,000 colonies per second, digital zooming to 100x

Platform flexibility

Reads round dishes up to 150 mm and square dishes 120×120 mm
Replaceable background panels for light and dark-field shooting
Standard modules for pure plate and inhibition zone measurement, optional - AST, Spiral Plate, MIC, SBA, Chromogenic ID, Multiwell, Ames, OPKA, Multi-Sector
Compatibility with barcode readers

Convenience and traceability

Lightweight ergonomic case with sliding doors protects the image from external light
Manual correction, separation of merged colonies and polygonal exclusion zones
Results are exported to XLS, CSV, PDF and transmitted to LIMS.
Full compliance of 21 CFR Part 11 with audit trail and access delimitation

Optics and detection

Minimum defined colony size	0.043 mm
Accuracy of measurement of inhibition zones	± 0.5 mm
Camera.	1.4 MP CMOS, f1.5 lens
Permission	1280×1024
Lighting up	RGB LED, triple gripper for true color
Digital magnification	100x

Throughput

Speed of calculation	up to 10,000 colonies/s
Multimedia accounting	membrane filters, PetriFilm, classification by color, size, shape, mesh membranes

Dimensions and connection

Cup sizes	round up to 150 mm, square 120×120 mm
Dimensions (WxVxG)	45×50×40 cm
Weight	20 kg
Power supply	100-240 V

Software and data

Export of data	XLS, CSV, PDF, transfer to LIMS
Compliance with standards	21 CFR Part 11 (Audit Footprint, Access Levels)
Standard of production quality	ISO 9001:2015

Program modules (optional)

Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST)

Measurement of ABH zones compared to EUCAST/CLSI databases

Spiral Plate

Helical crop reading with CFU/ml

Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC)

Automatic reading of areas around MIC strips

Chromogenic ID

Automatic identification of microbes on chromogenic media

Multiwell

Counting colonies in the wells of multi-well microplates

Ames Testing

Assessment of mutagenic activity of chemicals

Serum Bactericidal Assay (SBA)

Determining the effectiveness of bacterial vaccines

Opsonophagocytic Killing Assay (OPKA)

Evaluation of the potency of viral vaccines by colony

Multi-Sector

Counting colonies on sectored dishes, for example for air monitoring

Accessories

Barcode reader

Automatic identification of samples

Custom cup holders and validation microplates

Configure for non-standard cup formats and IQ/OQ/PQ

Related equipment types

Spiral Players
Thermostats and incubators
Automatic ABH systems
LIMS for microbiology

Classification

Microbiology
Accounting for suppression zones (disco diffusion)
Microbiological equipment
Recording and counting of results
Systems of automatic accounting of suppression zones (ABH)
ProtoCOL 3 Plus