Facility

E&O Diagnostics’ microbiology laboratory is housed in a standalone building on the E&O Laboratories’ media manufacturing site at Burnhouse. An additional dedicated satellite laboratory is also used within the production area, where all the new culture media formulation/ R&D work is carried out plus raw material testing on all routinely manufactured media samples.

The microbiology laboratory is cGLP compliant and consists of two laboratory areas which allows for good separation of activities. The main laboratory area is a spacious 76 square metres with ample bench space and access to a walk-in refrigerator, an office area and a second laboratory area used for all live culture preparation. The main lab is where all the physical testing, sample setup and inoculations are carried out. Dedicated areas exist for sample reception, sample preparation and plating, sub-culturing and counting. Our incubators are all located in the main laboratory, including a CO2 incubator and an anaerobic cabinet to cover the full range of temperatures required for our testing.

We also have a laminar flow hood for sterility-critical testing. Preparation and plating of reference cultures for the culture media testing is limited to the QC lab in order to contain any risk of cross-contamination. The QC lab also facilitates a Class 1 safety cabinet for the handling of any potentially hazardous microorganisms. All critical equipment is maintained and calibrated to an appropriate schedule.