{"id":4838,"date":"2024-09-26T09:08:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T09:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/?page_id=4838"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:10:11","slug":"1-which-is-the-terminology-glossary-involved-in-mam","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/who-we-are\/bacterial-air-monitoring-division\/questions-and-answers-is-dedicated-to-the-introduction-of-microbial-air-monitoring-mam\/1-which-is-the-terminology-glossary-involved-in-mam\/","title":{"rendered":"1 – WHICH IS THE TERMINOLOGY (GLOSSARY) INVOLVED IN MAM?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>Microbial Air Monitoring (MAM)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Microbiological monitoring of the air, i.e. checking how many and which microorganisms are present in the air of an environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Sampling techniques and parameters<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • \n

    Active sampling<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Air sampling performed with an instrument that aspirates a known volume of air<\/b><\/span> and impacts it onto an agar plate.<\/span><\/p>\n

    It is used to measure how many viable microorganisms<\/b><\/span> are present in the air.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Passive sampling \/ Settle plates<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Sampling performed with plates left open<\/b><\/span> in the environment, on which microbial particles settle by gravity<\/b><\/span> from the air onto the agar surface.<\/span><\/p>\n

    It is a simple method, but less quantitative<\/b><\/span> than active sampling.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Air flow (L\/min)<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Amount of air aspirated by the instrument every minute, expressed in litres per minute<\/b><\/span> (e.g. 100 L\/min, 200 L\/min).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Particle counter<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

    Instrument that counts non-viable particles<\/b><\/span> (dust, fibres, etc.) present in the air, without indicating whether they contain live microorganisms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \n

    Microorganisms and particles<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • \n

      Micro-organism<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      General term that includes bacteria, yeasts, moulds and other microscopic organisms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Bacteria<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Unicellular microorganisms<\/b><\/span>, often responsible for infections or product spoilage.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Yeast<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Unicellular fungi<\/b><\/span> that can cause fermentations or spoilage of food and beverages.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Moulds<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Multicellular filamentous fungi<\/b><\/span> that form typically \u201cfuzzy\u201d colonies and may produce spores.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Fungi<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Group that includes yeasts and moulds<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Viable particles<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Particles that contain live microorganisms<\/b><\/span> capable of growing on a culture medium (bacteria, yeasts, moulds).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      Unviable particles (non-viable particles)<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Inert particles<\/b><\/span> (dust, fibres, etc.) that do not grow<\/b><\/span> in culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      CFU \u2013 Colony Forming Unit<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

      Visible colony that develops on a plate after incubation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      1 CFU = at least one viable microorganism<\/b> that has multiplied.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \n

      Culture media and plates<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
        \n
      • \n

        Culture media<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Nutrient mixture, solid or liquid, that allows microorganisms to grow<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Culture plate<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Plate (Petri or contact) filled with culture medium<\/b><\/span> on which microorganisms are grown.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Petri dish<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Round plate, usually 90 mm<\/b><\/span> in diameter, used to culture microorganisms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        Contact plate<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Smaller plate (about 55 mm<\/b><\/span>), often used for surface sampling<\/b><\/span> and, in some cases, for air sampling.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        TSA \u2013 Tryptic Soy Agar<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cGeneral-purpose\u201d culture medium used for total bacterial count<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        SDA \u2013 Sabouraud Dextrose Agar<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

        Culture medium mainly used for the growth of yeasts and moulds<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \n

        Microbiological and control processes<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
          \n
        • \n

          Incubation<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Period during which plates are kept at a controlled temperature<\/b><\/span> to allow microorganisms to grow and form visible colonies.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Contamination<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Undesired presence of microorganisms in the air or on surfaces, products or equipment<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Disinfection<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Chemical or physical treatment that reduces or eliminates<\/b><\/span> microorganisms on surfaces and equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Sterilization<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Process that eliminates all forms of microbial life<\/b><\/span>, including spores.<\/span><\/p>\n

          It is more intensive than simple disinfection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          Micron \/ Micrometre (\u00b5m)<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

          Unit used to express particle size<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

          1 \u00b5m = <\/span>one millionth of a metre<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \n

          Standards, data quality and equipment qualification<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
            \n
          • \n

            ISO<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            International standards that define requirements (for example for cleanrooms, compressed air, instruments<\/b><\/span>, etc.).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            USP \u2013 United States Pharmacopeia<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            United States Pharmacopeia, which includes chapters dedicated to microbiological control<\/b><\/span> and environmental monitoring<\/b><\/span> (e.g. <1116>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            GMP \u2013 Good Manufacturing Practices<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Rules that define how to manufacture medicinal products<\/b><\/span> (and other products) in a controlled, safe and traceable<\/b><\/span> way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            Data integrity<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Principle stating that data must be <\/span>complete, correct, traceable and not manipulated<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            ALCOA<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Acronym summarising the key requirements for data integrity:<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • \n

              A<\/b><\/span>ttributable<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              L<\/b><\/span>egible<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              C<\/b><\/span>ontemporaneous<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              O<\/b><\/span>riginal<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              A<\/b><\/span>ccurate<\/span><\/p>\n

              All data (including MAM data) must comply with these criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              IQ \u2013 Installation Qualification<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

              Verification that the instrument is installed correctly<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              OQ \u2013 Operational Qualification<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

              Verification that the instrument operates according to its technical specifications<\/b><\/span> under controlled conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

            • \n

              PQ \u2013 Performance Qualification<\/b><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

              Verification that the instrument, used in the real process<\/b><\/span>, provides adequate and reproducible performance<\/b><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Microbial Air Monitoring (MAM) Microbiological monitoring of the air, i.e. checking how many and which microorganisms are present in the air of an environment. Sampling techniques and parameters Active sampling Air sampling performed with an instrument that aspirates a known volume of air and impacts it onto an agar plate. It is used to measure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5076,"parent":4836,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4838","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","czr-hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5483,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4838\/revisions\/5483"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oruminternational.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}