The Challenges With Real-Time Viable Particle Counters

Real-time viable particle detectors use optical techniques to determine particle viability on a particle-by-particle basis. Real-time viable particle detectors use the intrinsic fluorescence of microbial constituents associated with cell viability to analyze environmental particles entrained in the aerosol sample flow path.

A key point with the technology is with the validation. Evaluation of real-time viable particle detectors must include the following critical factors:

• How the aerosol is introduced during routine operation as well as laboratory based evaluation
• The aerosol efficiency of the real-time viable particle detector
• The aerosol efficiency of the active sampler used to obtain the comparison sample
• The detection efficiency of the real-time viable particle detector
• The false positive rate of the real-time viable particle detector

In relation to this technology, Darrick Niccum has written an article for Pharmaceutical Online.

Posted by Tim Sandle