Fledgling company rqmicro AG, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, produces its own reagents and innovative instruments for microbiological testing of water and food samples as a means of protecting consumers all over the world from contamination. In such cases, it is obviously crucial to detect pathogens as rapidly and reliably as possible. This inspired the interdisciplinary team at rqmicro to develop ultra-fast, highly specific microbiological test procedures using immunomagnetic separation, microfluidic cartridges and flow cytometers. rqmicro’s special technology is designed to enable laboratories to separate legionella from water samples within 30 minutes - a dramatic improvement on conventional microbiological methods, which can take up to 14 days to produce a semi-quantitative result.

The company is unveiling CellStream, its ultra-fast cell separation instrument for processing legionella samples, at LABVOLUTION 2017. It has developed CellStream to provide customers with a microbiological test that simply and efficiently separates bacteria from complex samples. Combined with flow cytometry, microscopy or PCR, CellStream is designed to quantify specific pathogens in next to no time and thus give its users a clear competitive edge. In conjunction with rqmicro's reagents and microfluidic cartridges, CellStream provides an all-in-one solution that enables users to purify samples and isolate specific cells, such as legionella, from water at ultra-high speeds.