Mycometer A/S
Mycometer is the technology leader of rapid microbiology, onsite technology based on highly sensitive of Enzyme Targeted Fluorogenic Detection, a technology allowing specific rapid and reproducible quantification of fungi or of bacteria on surfaces, in air, in liquids or in bulk materials in the environment.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Health and Safety - Health and Safety Monitoring and Testing
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1998
History
1998: Founded
Mycometer was founded in 1998, by Dr. Morten Reeslev and Dr. Morten Miller as a spin-off from a research group at the University of Copenhagen.
1999: First Product
Our first product, the Mycometer®-test, for measuring the level of fungal biomass on surfaces, was presented to the market in 1999.
2007: New Products
The Bactiquant®-water test for quantifying bacteria in water and other liquids and the Bactiquant® surface (now Mycometer® surface Bacteria) for quantifying bacteria on surfaces, was presented to the market in 2007.
2007: US Office
A subsidiary, Mycometer, Inc., was opened in Tampa, Florida USA in 2007.
2009: New Product
The Mycometer air test for assessment of the fungal level in air samples (spores, hyphal fragments and micro fragments) was launched in 2009.
2020: Two Companies
In 2020, the former Mycometer A/S was divided into two separate companies Bactiquant A/S focusing on quantifying bacteria in water, and Mycometer A/S focusing on quantifying fungi and bacteria in the indoor environment, in food and in many other environments.
2021: New and Second Generation Products
New innovations have led to an improved technology with higher specificity and some new applications and a new dimension on the data interpretation, such as the Fungal to Allergen Index. The packaging has become more sustainable, environmentally friendly.
Mycometer® surface Fungi – A new and improved version of the former Mycometer® test
Mycometer® air Fungi – A new and improved version of the former Mycometer® air
Mycometer® air Allergen – A new product quantifying the total allergen level in air
Mycometer® FAI – A new product. The Fungal to Allergen Index or FAI is a tool to help identify and locate fungal sources in the environment. By looking at the ratio of fungi to allergen in air samples, sources of fungi can be identified even in clean environments. This concept puts a whole new dimension on data interpretation!
Mycometer® surface Bacteria – A new version of the former Bactiquant® surface.
Technology
Enzyme Activity
The Mycometer technology is based on the finding that it is possible to identify enzyme activities that characterizes certain taxonomic groups of organisms. In 1999, the Company launched the Mycometer®-test for measuring the fungal biomass on surfaces. This test is based on the finding that the level of an enzyme activity ( β-N-acetylhexosaminidase, NAHA) correlates with the level of ergosterol, a known indicator of fungal presence. Later investigations have shown that a broad range of randomly chosen fungi contain very high levels of this enzyme activity, which seems to be ubiquitous in fungi. Bactiquant®-water for quantifying bacteria in liquids was launched in 2007. This product is based on the targeting of a bacterial hydrolase activity which correlates with bacterial biomass in a wide range of water samples. Today, Mycometer holds several patents and trademarks. The Company's technology has been verified by the United States Environmental Agency (US-EPA).
Principle
The enzymes are localized in the microorganisms. So when the sample is contacted with a solution containing an artificial enzyme substrate, the substrate is hydrolyzed by the target enzyme and a fluorophore is released.
Measurements
Measurements
The amount of fluorophore released by the microbial enzymes can then be measured in a small field fluorometer.
Robustness
What makes this technology particularly robust and reproducible is that the fluorophore is released directly into the reaction solution. This means that there is no need for extracting the fluorophore from the cells. This is a great advantage over many other technologies, as extraction procedures can be difficult to reproduce and add significantly to the variability of the test results.