Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Biopharmaceutical manufacturers strive to ensure patient safety, avoid recalls and protect company reputations. Identifying subvisible particles is an important step in preventing recalls of parenterals. One aspect of product safety is defined in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) 788 guidelines for particle sizing.  This was designed to control for particles capable of causing capillary occlusion, and therefore focuses on particles larger than 10 µm and 25 µm. As such, no characterization is required for particles below 10 µm. 

November 6, 2018, Brunswick, Maine—

At the close of Election Day, Dr. Deborah Bronk presented on the effects of climate change on the Gulf of Maine at Frontier Cafe and Restaurant in Brunswick, Maine.

Dr. Bronk, a PhD from the University of Maryland, most recently held tenure as a Professor at the College of William and Mary where she conducted research on how phytoplankton and other aquatic microbes process nitrogen. In February 2018, she became the President and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. 

The AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference 2018 is about to kick-off in Toronto, Ontario. AWWA WQTC18 is the leading North American conference for water quality professionals to gather and discuss the latest research, technology and innovations serving water quality professionals. If you're attending, there are a few opportunities to have a hands-on experience with the FlowCam flow imaging microscope.

October 2018 — Environmental Engineering Research published a paper presenting a new method for cell counting Microcystis colonies using the FlowCam.  Researchers from Korea Water Resources Corporation, University of Central Florida, and Kyungbook National University developed a three-dimensional image processing method using an algorithm to count colonial Microcystis cells.    

Scientists at the University of Alberta, Alberta Health, and University of Calgary compared the efficacy of using the FlowCam to traditional light microscopy for rapid cyanobacteria quantification and high resolution taxonomic data. Traditional light microscopy, while it provides the highest level of detail and is the ideal method for taxonomic identification, is time-consuming. The rate of quantifying and reporting cyanobacterial abundance must match the rate of cyanobacterial production in order to assess the present risk to human and ecological health. 

Anabaena, a common culprit of cyanobacterial blooms, as imaged by the FlowCam at 10X. 

OCTOBER 2018 — Fluid Imaging Technologies has hired Stephen Barton as their new Technical Customer Support Associate. Stephen has recently returned to Maine after three years in New Hampshire working at Dartmouth College in a genetics laboratory. The primary areas of study involved Autism spectrum disorder and memory malfunction. Prior to Dartmouth, Stephen worked at the University of New England with a research focus in ocular pain and medication overuse headache. Stephen is very excited to be back in Maine and in his free time enjoys board games, good books, and exploring new places. 

Heather Anne Wright, MSc, is Fluid Imaging Technologies' Applications Support Manager. She works with customers directly on application and method development, instrument and software training, and laboratory services. 

Kent Peterson is the CEO of Fluid Imaging Technologies.

Every summer, around 160 researchers converge at the Workshop on Protein Aggregation and Immunogenicity hosted in Breckenridge, Colorado by the University of Colorado Center for Pharmaceutical Technology and the AAPS Focus Group on Protein Aggregation and Immunogenicity. 

Launched in late 2017, the FlowCam^® Nano has garnered several awards and recognitions for breakthrough innovation in laboratory science during its first year on the market. As the only particle analyzer capable of simultaneously counting, characterizing and producing high-resolution digital images of nanoparticles in liquid samples, the FlowCam Nano fills a gap in data procurement and analysis that no other instrument provides.

Devastating Red Tide Impacts Coastal Communities of Western Florida

This past summer a red tide spread along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline killing millions of fish and threatening human health (not to mention impacting regional tourism).  Harmful algae blooms (HABs) like this occur with regularity nationwide and cost an estimated $50 million each year.

Florida is a Case Study for the Need to Improve HAB Funding

Beyond the problems along the Gulf Coast, southeastern Florida is experiencing a blue-green, cyanobacteria bloom in the St. Lucie River. Recent testing shows that water samples are 10 times too toxic to even touch due to high levels of microcystin, a toxin that can make people and animals sick. Direct contact with the algae can cause a rash.  When ingested, the toxin can cause nausea, vomiting, and in some sever cases, acute liver failure.

To study the effects of HABs and other ocean and Great Lakes pathogens, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, have awarded new grants totaling $30 million. The grants fund research on ecosystems in the oceans and in the Great Lakes Basin.