HYCON® Contact Slides SDX [Pack of 20]

Description

HYCON® Contact Slides SDX are designed for the determination of the total yeast and mold count on dry, sanitized surfaces as well as personnel in controlled environments of production lines, i.e. food and beverages as well as non-sterile and terminally sterilized pharmaceuticals.

Each contact slide is individually sealed in the transparent, primary package and provides a rectangular surface of 25 cm2. The agar is filled in a flexible backing film. The formulation of the basic medium is a Sabouraud Dextrose Agar, supplemented with inhibitors against the accompanying bacterial flora.

Mode of Action
Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDX; SDA) is a complex medium for cultivation and isolation of a wide range of
yeasts and molds. The medium is supplemented with the neutralizer polysorbate 80 and phosphatidycholine, which belongs to lecithin. The included mixture of antibiotics shows inactivating properties towards bacterial strains.

Typical Composition
Enzymatic digest of casein: 10 g/L
Dextrose: 20 g/L
Tween 80: 5 ml/L
L-alpha-Phosphatidycholine: 0.7 g/L
Selective mix: –
Agar: 20 g/L
Supplements such as buffer: –

The appearance of the medium is clear and yellowish. The pH value is in the range of 6.8-7.2. The medium can be adjusted and/or supplemented according to the performance criteria required.

Application and Interpretation

Prior to use the contact slides should be equilibrated to room temperature. Please check each contact slide before use to verify sterility and take care on aseptic handling in order to avoid false positive results. Contaminated or dehydrated contact slides should not be used for sampling. It is recommended to put the cover slide in place before opening the contact slide.

For sampling, the sealing of the primary packaging is opened by approximately one third. The backing film filled with agar facing downwards is removed while taking care of aseptic handling and the agar surface is pressed on the dry surface to be tested for some seconds with a steady pressure (see also ISO 14698).

Afterwards the backing film is returned into the primary packaging with the agar facing downwards and closed by moving the cover slide to the opening end of the contact slide. Please take care on cleaning the surface which came into contact with the agar medium. The closed contact slides are transferred to an incubator.

Several recommendations are given by different guidelines for incubation: according to USP <1116> the agar media used for environmental monitoring should be incubated between 20 and 35°C for not less than 72 hours.

According to the FDA Aseptic Guide the slides for the determination of the total yeast and mold count should be incubated at 20 to 25°C for 5 to 7 days. Individual incubation conditions can be chosen and should be validated at the application site.

Finally, the number of CFU per slide is examined. Grown colonies may be identified using suitable methods related to root cause analysis programs or to support sanitizing management.

Important Notes
• Practice aseptic technique when handling contact slides
• The coated surface of the contact slides should face down during incubation in order to avoid the formation of satellites by condensing water

Storage
The product can be used until the expiry date if stored in the original box, protected from light and properly sealed
at the temperature range indicated on the box label. The total shelf life from the date of production is 8 months.

Condensation can be prevented by avoiding quick temperature shifts and mechanical stress. Upon storage
contact slides should not be placed near heat sources such as refrigerators with heat-emitting condensers. Boxes should be stored with the coated side of the contact slide facing downwards.

Disposal
Please mind the respective regulations for the disposal of used culture medium (e.g. autoclave for 20 min at 121°C, disinfect, incinerate etc.).