Rapid test for diesel fungus developed

[Guest guest]

Rapid test for diesel fungus developed

http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/1a/0c03961a.asp

SCIENTISTS in England have developed a test kit for hormoconis

resinae, the fungus that causes blockages and corrosion in diesel

and jet fuel tanks.

Conidia Bioscience developed the Fuelstat resinae kit in response to

calls from operators in the aviation industry for a real-time test

for microbial contamination in fuel tanks.

Recent inquiries by the US Federal Aviation authority determined jet-

fuel fungus to be the culprit in several cases where a major carrier

had several aborted take offs.

Using microbe-testing kits, an inspection of 27 aircraft in the

carrier's fleet resulted in similar instances of fuel contamination.

As a result, the carrier revised maintenance programme inspections

for such contamination within its fleet.

Unlike growth-based tests that require a minimum of 72 hours to

provide results, the Fuelstat test can provide rapid screening of

fuel samples to provide an accurate assessment of hormoconis resinae

in the fuel tank.

A Conidia Bioscience spokesman explained how Fuelstat differed from

other products on the market: " Our kit is an immunoassay test

[similar to a pregnancy test]. This means that we detect

contamination by finding material that is produced by our target

organism during growth on fuel, " he said.

" We do not need to capture a part of the living organism and grow

it. This is important because the fungus we detect does not just

float around at the water/fuel interface as the other ones; it

sticks to the bottom or sides of the tank.

" It is also important because our compound is spread throughout the

liquid of the tank, not just at the interface. There is, therefore,

a better chance of finding that compound in a small sample. The

result is a more accurate and consistent answer.

" We go for the single target organism because it is the most

dangerous…and it is present in the vast majority of cases of

significant contamination [about 95%].

" We also only detect the fungus if it has been growing in fuel; the

kit will ignore any fungus that has been blown in from outside or

has been growing on trees or other food source.

" The other tests will grow whatever they find in the sample, whether

it came from the fuel or not. They require sterile sampling

conditions; we just require that the sample equipment is clean [no

residue from the last test sample].

" Most of our competitor kits require special handling, certainly for

safe disposal. Ours, apart from the fuel of course, can be put in

the nearest bin when the test is finished or recycled if the company

has a plastics recycling policy. "

The company has also developed a marine version of the test designed

for commercial, military and private ship operators. Future targets

for the business include other hydrocarbon fuels, beverages and

foodstuffs.

13 December 2005