Priorclave Autoclave Improves Workflow for Microbiology Laboratory

Two years ago, Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories (EML) Garden Grove purchased its first Priorclave steam autoclave. Such were the benefits it brought to the microbiology lab the lab has more recently purchased a second, larger Priorclave steam sterilizer.

Growth media preparation is the cornerstone of any microbiology lab. Not having the media you need when you need it—because someone forgot to start a batch or one failed—creates a log jam that puts everything behind schedule for several days. This is especially the case in food safety, monitoring, and quality assurance, where having the right media ready on time can make or break safety testing workflow.

Eurofins microbiology testing services offers environmental monitoring and product microbiology testing. They annually perform more than 450 million tests in its 900 labs, located in 61 countries across the globe. Eurofins prides itself on ensuring fast and accurate results to local clientele with as little hassle as possible. This includes offering real-time results through the Eurofins Online sample management platform. As such, the lab is especially sensitive to delays in growth media preparation.

Paulyn Medrano is lab lead at Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories (EML) Garden Grove, where she oversees their media department among other responsibilities. EML Garden Grove serves the greater Southern California area. In addition to its specific microbiology services, EML Garden Grove also serves as a hub, allowing clients access to the entire Eurofins food and supplement testing network. 

Paulyn has seen at first-hand how media preparation can become a bottleneck in a microbiology lab. “We were using smaller autoclaves,” she explained, “and it limited our ability to produce larger batches of media on a given day. We would often have to run multiple cycles a day or prioritise urgent media to cope with these issues. Running multiple cycles also required us to do maintenance and repair quite frequently.”

Since the installation of Priorclave autoclaves Eurofins Lab has been able to reduce the multiple cycles that they had previous run on certain days with the small sterilisers. t allowed the lab manager to create a schedule that consistently produced media without the need to prioritise certain media.

There were three reasons that led to the decision to buy Priorclave autoclaves. It allowed the lab to produce larger batches of media. Another reason was down to programming simplicity, the controls were easy to navigate for upcoming media technicians. Also, it meant that Eurofin’s Garden Grove Microbiology lab eliminated the need for the frequent maintenance and repair it had grown accustomed to with the smaller autoclaves, which halted media production.

Having a more efficient autoclave designed for lab use allowed them to streamline their processes and better organise the workflow.

Media techs confirmed that Priorclave autoclaves were simple and dependable in comparison to others. Having the Priorclave autoclaves helped Eurofins further reduced gridlock in its laboratory, streamlining and improving its preparation processes and thus easing strain on its media department.