The new Autoplate® Spiral Plating System - which delivers faster cycle times, a touch screen display, and self-cleaning features that boost processing speed and efficiency in microbiology laboratories - will be introduced at The American Society for Microbiology´s (ASM) 2009 General Meeting.

'The introduction of the new Autoplate represents a major advancement in spiral plating technology,' said Anthony Pappas, National Sales Manager, Advanced Instruments.

'The new Autoplate features 50 percent faster cycle times - 30 seconds as opposed to one minute - a new Windows® CE-based touch screen display, and an expanded range of analysis that includes two new spiral plating modes. The new system also introduces a revolutionary self-cleaning feature that is very fast, very thorough, and ensures no sample-to-sample contamination.

'Altogether, the new Autoplate drives spiral plating technology a generational leap forward,' Pappas said.

The new Autoplate deposits microbial suspensions without the need for most serial dilutions, thus increasing efficiency in the microbiology laboratory. Labor and material costs associated with sample preparation and manual dilution are reduced by 75%. Moreover, by eliminating the variability inherent in manual procedures, Autoplate delivers both a higher degree of accuracy, and repeatability.

Spiral Biotech´s Autoplate technology is ideal for any laboratory that uses microbial concentration samples greater than 1,000 cfu/g or cfu/ml, or any application where counts are high and standardization and reproducibility are key. Spiral Biotech will unveil the new Autoplate at the 2009 ASM General Meeting, stand number 133.