New Molecular Tools to Assess Water and Soil Quality

With the Water Framework Directive imposing its goal of “good ecological status” and the government pushing for a “sustainable” environment, EnPrint^® Ltd is perfectly placed to provide a solution to these challenges. EnPrint, a spin out company from the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) in Invergowrie near Dundee, is developing novel molecular tools to assess water and soil quality. By applying a molecular approach, the EnPrint diagnostics identify key target microorganisms in water that enable the classification of water bodies. The technology is state-of-the-art and offers high throughput, accurate and sensitivity advantages over the current, more traditional microscopic methods of identification and classification.

By working closely with industry partners including environment agencies, the EnPrint tools are currently being tested for their suitability as part of the Water Framework ecological monitoring toolkit.

Being a platform technology, these diagnostic tools are applicable to any situation where microorganism or pathogen populations require detection, identification and/or quantification. An area of current interest is as a screening methodology for detection of pathogens in water treatment facilities.