Millipore Corporation

Nihon Millipore Kabushiki Kaisha

David Wang

Malcolm G Pluskal

Takuji Kataoka

Susumu Seto

Atsumi Hirose, Deceased

John Charkoudian

Michael J Steuck

Charles Phoebe

A rapid, convenient, and highly sensitive method and kit for counting the number of living microorganisms are disclosed. A test solution is filtrated through a membrane filter element having a plurarity of hydrophilic sections substantially perfectly separated from each other by hydrophobic partitions. A microparticulate spray is then applied to said filter in order to add extracting and luminescence-inducing reagents in such an amount that allows the filter membrane within each section to become wet. Thereafter the sample obtained is processed by applying a highly sensitive bioluminescence image analyzing system thereto. The employment of a spray method for applying the extracting and luminescence-inducing reagents allows to substantially perfectly entrap the reagents and extracted substances within each of the hydrophilic sections, thus enabling, when combined with the use of a bioluminescence image analyzing system, to rapidly count the number without any or substantial requirement of cultivation.

Kit for counting the number of living microorganisms

A rapid, convenient, and highly sensitive method for counting the number of living microorganisms is disclosed, wherein a test solution is filtered through a membrane filter element having a plurarity of hydrophilic sections separated from each other by hydrophobic partitions. A microparticulate spray is then applied to the filter in order to add extracting and luminescence-inducing reagents in such an amount that allows the filter membrane within each section to become wet. Further, the sample obtained is processed by applying a highly sensitive luminescence image analyzing system thereto. The employment of a spray method for applying the extracting and luminescence-inducing reagents allows entrapment of the reagents and extracted substances within each of the hydrophilic sections. Therefore, when combined with the use of a luminescence image analyzing system, the number of bright spots so produced of which represent the living microorganisms may be rapidly counted without the requirement of cultivation.

Method for counting the number of living microorganisms

A method for covalent immobilization of a carbohydrate molecule with an oppositely charged surface, comprising the steps of adsorbing the carbohydrate molecule to the oppositely charged surface in proximity to reactive moieties bound to the charged surface; and next activating the bound moiety sufficiently for covalent attachment to the adsorbed carbohydrate molecule. Also disclosed is a hydrophobic microporous polymer membrane coated with a cross-linked, cationic polymer having fixed charges thereon, the coating having enhanced epoxide content for covalent immobilization of the oppositely-charged carbohydrate molecule. A novel method for sequencing carbohydrates by covalent attachment of a carbohydrate conjugate to the membrane, and subsequent treatment with glycosidases, is also presented.

Method and apparatus for covalent immobilization of charge- conjugated

The surface of a hydrophobic porous substrate is modified with an interpolymeric network of a hydrophilic crosslinked polymer and a crosslinked-polyamine epichlorohydrin resin having fixed positive charges. The hydrophobic substrate is contacted with a reaction system comprising a solution of (a) monomer precursor to the hydrophilic polymer, a nonionic or cationic polymerization initiator and a crosslinking agent and (b) a precursor to the crosslinked positively charged resin. The monomer is polymerized and cross-linked by free radical polymerization followed by heating the contacted substrate to form the charged resin.

Hydrophobic membrane having hydrophilic and charged surface and process

A hydrophobic material having a crosslinked, cationic charge-modifying coating such that the majority of the ion exchange capacity of the material is provided by fixed formal positive charge groups is disclosed. The material is produced by contacting a hydrophobic substrate with a mildly alkaline, aqueous organic solvent solution into which has been dissolved a cationic charge-modifying agent. The charge-modifying agent comprises a water soluble, organic polymer having a molecular weight of greater than about 1000, wherein the polymer chain contains both fixed formal positive charge groups and halohydrin groups. Materials of the type described herein can be used in a variety of applications including macromolecular blotting and filtration.

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Lexington, MA, United States of America

David Wang