Clivet leads legionella detection project

ITALY: Air conditioning manufacturer Clivet is leading a European project to design a means of automatically detecting legionella.

The three-year project is being funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme  for research and innovation. Code-named POSEIDON, it has the aim of developing a platform for optical automatic in-situ detection of the pathogenic legionella pneumophila bacteria. The device will be integrated into hvac systems, purification and also in water distribution systems.

Unlike current standard microbiological methods, that need several days to detect the pathogens and are based on in-vitro selection of bacteria executed by specialised personnel, it is envisaged that the new platform will ensure fast detection and analysis. Detection of legionella will be available in a few hours, allowing prompt disinfection of the plant.

In this ambitious project, officially launched with an inaugural meeting on January 19 at Veneto Nanotech, Clivet will be responsible for implementing, testing and monitoring the new devices in order to demonstrate their functionality and applicability.

In addition to Clivet, the project team comprises Italian nanotechnology company Veneto Nanotech as scientific coordinator and medical search company ARC – Centro Ricerche Applicate. Also in the project team is Uppsala University, the Spanish clinical analysis laboratory Catlab, Dutch analytics company Metrohm Applikon, and supported by UK supply management company, the Warrant Group.