AUTOMATED PARTICULATE CONCENTRATION SYSTEM

摘要

An automated system for concentrating potentially harmful substances from various water types or other non-viscous liquids to facilitate detection of those substances is disclosed herein. The automated system comprises a water pressure driven or pump driven concentration unit that filters the test fluid through a hollow-fiber filter. Material collected on the filter is backflushed into a collection vessel by passing a small volume of sterile solution through the filter in the reverse direction. The automated system can be configured to be portable or to be integrated into a continuous liquid stream for online monitoring of test fluids. Optionally, an electronic signal at the end of the backflush sequence triggers a detector, such as an automated array biosensor, to begin processing and analyzing the sample.