JULY 24--WILD Flavors (Cincinnati, OH, USA; www.wildflavors.com) has selected a FlowCAM system from Fluid Imaging Tehnologies (Edgecomb, ME, USA; www.fluidimaging.com) for its quality control applications. WILD Flavors is one of the largest privately owned suppliers of natural flavor ingredients for the food and beverage industry. An instrument that integrates microscopy and flow cytometry, the FlowCAM analyzes, images, and counts particles in a fluid stream. A FlowCAM BX-4 model was purchased for use at WILD Flavors' US headquarters.
"While particle counters help us to characterize materials, microscopy yields far more information about the material. However, microscopic analysis is very time consuming," stated Rob Tyskiewicz, analytical chemist in WILD Flavors' Global Analytics Department. "With the FlowCAM, we expect to be able to microscopically inspect far more material in a shorter time frame. The FlowCAM provides the same types of information as classical microscopy, but in much higher quantities than we were able to look at before."
Researchers and technicians can use the FlowCAM to identify and analyze particles using over twenty different parameters. The FlowCAM produces a clear digital image of each particle and presents data in an easy-to-read image-based spreadsheet. The FlowCAM also uses an interactive scattergram, which allows the user to highlight a particular area of interest on a plotted graph and then display all particle images associated with that area.
The FlowCAM was originally developed at Bigelow Laboratories for Ocean Sciences (West Booth Bay Harbor, ME, USA; www.bigelow.org) to be used in oceanographic applications such as the study of harmful algae. Since the founding of Fluid Imaging Technologies in 1999, the company has expanded into international oceanographic markets, and FlowCAMs are now being used in a range of industrial, commercial, and research applications.
