Title of Invention

"A PROCESS FOR PREPARING BIO-DET SOLUTION FOR DETECTING BIO-CONTAMINATION IN AVIATION FUEL"

Abstract 1. A process for the preparation of a bio-det solution for detection of bio-Contamination in aviation fuel comprising of the following steps of i) preparing a potato-dextrose-agar solution by dissolving approximately 39 gm of potato-dextrose-agar powder in 1000 ml of distilled water and 8-10 ml of the solution prepared is sterilised in an autoclave and cooled, vi) preparing a tiphenyl tetrazolium chloride by dissolving approximately 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride in 5ml of distilled water and refrigerating die solution immediately after preparation, vii) preparing a sterile aviation fuel by filtering the aviation fuel through a .04 micron membrane filter, viii) mixing the sterile aviation fuel from step (iii) with the sterilised potato-dextrose agar solution from step (i) and ix) adding .03 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution from step (ii) with the solution of step (iv) resulting in the bio-det solution.
Full Text FIELD OF INVENTION;
This invention relates to the field of aviation fuel, particularly to a process for preparing bio-det solution for detection of bio-contamination of aviation fuel.
PRIOR ART;
The existence of any contaminant in the aircraft could be very dangerous and as such is highly undesirable. Any fuel is said to be contaminated when it contains substances other than those provided in the fuel specification. The contaminants could be sand, rust, water or even any microbes. However, microbiological contaminants become especially important in case of kerosene type fuel, which are utilised in turbo-jet engines. The turbo-jet engine is found to run more economically and safely on kerosene type fuels which unlike petrol, contain a preponderance of straight-chain parafines. Kerosene is more susceptible to attack by microbes than gasoline. The problem of bio-contamination of fuel becomes more serious in case of military aircraft, which tend to be grounded for much longer period of time than commercial aircraft. The microbes contaminants may cause failure of fuel pumps and gauges, blockage of fuel filters and corrosion of aluminium alloys used in the fuel. These microbes also degrade polymers used as fuel tank coatings.
One known method for testing the presence of contaminants in aviation fuel is through visual means. The aviation fuel and inside of the fuel tanks is monitored for the presence of contaminants. Pipe or filter blockage also suggests the presence microorganisms. The storage tanks and filtration equipments are routinely drained for visual evidence of microbial growth. A clearly visible mat is formed at the fuel water interface hi case of presence of any fungus.
The major disadvantage of this known method is that this method is not effective against every type of contaminants and also it is not effective under poor visible condition. Further, this method is very crude and may lead to wrong results. Also it will be to late to wait for pipe or filter to get clogged to detect the presence of microorganisms.
Another method of detecting presence of bio-contaminants in aviation fuel, known to the prior art, is through Hydrogen sulfide strip test. Anaerobic bacteria such as desulphovibiro releases hydrogen sulphide during metabolism which can be detected by immersing sterile silver strips into the fuel. Blackening of the silver strips due to production of H2S indicates the presence of anaerobic bacteria and hydrogen sulphide. However, this method of detection bio-contaminants is a selective test indicating the presence of anaerobic bacteria only and it gives no indication about the presence of other type of microbes present in the aviation fuel. Even in case of anaerobic bacteria, it fails to give indication hi the initial stage of fungus growth as anaerobic bacteria grow only at later stages.
Microbiological membrane filter test is another method of detecting bio-contaminants, known to the prior art. In this method, any microorganism present in the aviation fuel is trapped in a sterile membrane of about 0.45 micron pose size. The membrane containing the microorganism is placed on the surface of a petriplate comprising a suitable medium for identification of bacteria or fungi.
However, this method suffers from the disadvantage that the petriplates need to be incubated at around 37 C till visible growth of bacteria is seen. The incubation period in this case could be as high as five days for detecting presence of bio-contaminants,
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION ;
Primary object of the invention is to provide a process for preparation of a bio-det solution for rapid detection of bio-contaminants in aviation fuel.
Another object of the invention is to provide provide a process for preparation of a bio-det solution, which can detect the presence of bio-contaminants on-site without the need of fuel sample being sent to the laboratory.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a process for preparation of a bio-det solution, which is highly effective and accurate in detecting the presence of bio-contaminants in the aviation fuel.
Yet further object of the invention is to provide a process for preparation of bio-det solution, which is effective in detecting the presence of fungus as well as bacterial growth in the aviation fuel.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a process for preparation of a bio-det solution, which is stable even at room temperature thereby obviating the need for refrigeration.
Still further object of the invention is to provide a process for preparation of a bio-det solution, which is simpler and cheaper.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention there is provided a process for the preparation of a bio-det solution for detection of bio-contamination in aviation fuel comprising of following steps;
[i) preparation of potato-dextrose-agar solution (ii) Preparation of Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (iii) Preparation of sterile aviation fuel (iv) mixing of sterile aviation fuel with potato-dextrose-agar
solution (v) mixing of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1. A process for the preparation of a bio-det solution for detection of bio-Contamination in aviation fuel comprising of the following steps of
i) preparing apotato-dextrose-agar solution by dissolving approximately 39 gm of potato-dextrose-agar powder in 1000 ml of distilled water and 8-10 ml of the solution prepared is sterilised ia an autoclave and cooled,
it) preparing a tiphenyl tetrazolium chloride by dissolving approximately 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride in 5ml of distilled water and refrigerating die solution immediately after preparation,
iii) preparing a sterile aviation fuel by filtering the aviation fuel through a .04 micron membrane filter,
iv) mixing the sterile aviation fuel from step (iii) with the sterilised potato-dextrose agar solution from step (i) and
v) adding .03 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution from step (ii) with the solution of step (iv) resulting in the bio-det solution.
The detection of the bio-contaminants in the aviation fuel is based upon the principle that the microorganisms grow in the aviation fuel by utilising the hydrocarbon present in the fuel. These microorganisms, in turn, make the medium acidic due to the process of metabolism. Further, these microorganisms are characterised by the presence of specific enzymes, which are biocatalysts and are very specific in their action. The metabolising microbial cells, present in the aviation fuel due to the presence of bio-contaminants, reduce a reducing dye resulting in the charactristic color formation. This principle has been utilised for preparation of the bio-det solution in which triphenyl tetrazolium chloride is utilised as a reducing dye. The process for preparion of the bio-det solution comprises of following steps.
(i) Preparion of potato-dextrose-aear solution
Approximately 39 gm of potato-dextrose-agar powder is accurately weighed and dissolved in 1000 ml of distilled powder at room temperature with continuous stirring.
(ii) Preparation of Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution
Approximately 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride is dissolved in 5 ml of distilled water with continuous stirring. The solution, prepared in this manner, is refrigerated immediately after preparation.
(iii) Preparation of sterile aviation fuel
A solution of sterile aviation fuel is prepared by filtering the aviation fuel through a .04 micron membrane filter resulting in sterile fuel.
(iv) Filling of potato-dextrose-agar solution in sterilised bottle
A screw-capped bottle is thoroughly washed and is filled with 8-10 ml of potato-dextrose-agar solution prepared in above manner. This bottle is then sterilised in the autoclave at 121 °C and at 15 psi pressure for a period of 20 minute. The bottle is then cooled at the room temperature
(iv) Mixing of sterile aviation fuel and potato-dextrose-agar solution
8-10 ml of membrane filtered fuel is added to above bottle containing potato-dextrose-agar solution under laminar flow conditions to avoid air borne contamination.
(V) Mixing of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution
.03 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution, prepared in the step (ii) of this process, is carefully added to the above solution using a micropipette under asceptic conditions in a laminar flow chamber resulting in the bio-det solution.
Finally, the bio-det solution prepared in above manner, is sealed in the screw-capped bottle and is covered with aluminium foil.
Detecting The Presence Of Bio-Contaminants:
The aviation fuel, to be tested for presence of bio-contaminants, is collected from the aircraft. A small quantity of aviation fuel (3-5 ml) of the test aviation fuel is dispensed into the bottle containing the bio-det solution. The bottle is well shaken and is incubated at room temperature. The bottle is observed for color change. The presence of bio-contaminants in the aviation fuel is indicated by the change in color of the bio-det solution to pink or reddish pink. The bacterial contamination is detected within 24 hours while fungus contamination is detected within 48 hours. The intensity of the color change depends upon the level of the contamination.
The process of the present invention will now be illustrated with working examples, which are intended to be typical examples to illustrate the working of the invention and are not intended to be taken restrictively to imply any limitation on the scope of the present invention
WORKING EXAMPLE 1
39 gm of potato-dextrose-agar powder is accurately weighed and dissolved in 1000 ml of distilled water. 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride is dissolved in 5ml of distilled water and the solution is refrigerated immediately after preparation. The sterile aviation fuel is prepared by filtering 8-10 ml of aviation fuel through 0.4 micron size membrane filter. 8-10 ml of potato-dextrose agar solution, prepared in above manner, is filled in a thoroughly washed screw capped bottle. The bottle is sterilized in the autoclave at 121 °C at 15 psi pressure for a period of 20 minutes. After cooling the bottle to the room temperature, 8-10 ml of sterilised aviation fuel is added to the bottle. Next, 0.3 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution is added to the contents of the bottle carefully utilising a micropipette. This bio-det solution is utilised for detection of fungus in the aviation fuel.
WORKING EXAMPLE 2

5 gm of peptone, 5 gm of/sodium chloride (NaCl) and 3 gm of beef extract are accurately weighed and dissolved in 1000 ml of distilled water to prepare nutrient broth. Next, 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride is dissolved in 5ml of distilled water and the solution is refrigerated immediately after preparation. The sterile aviation fuel is prepared by filtering 8-10 ml of aviation fuel through 0.4 micron size membrane filter. 8-
10 ml of potato-dextrose agar solution, prepared in above manner, is filled in a thoroughly washed screw capped bottle. The bottle is sterilized in the autoclave at 121 °C at 15 psi pressure for a period of 20 minutes. After cooling the bottle to the room temperature, 8-10 ml of sterile aviation fuel is added to the bottle. Next, 0.3 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution is added to the contents of the bottle carefully utilising a micropipette. This bio-det solution is utilised for detection of bacteria in the aviation fuel.
It is to be understood that the process of the present invention is susceptible to adaptations, changes and modifications by those skilled in the art. Such adaptations, changes and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention, which is further set forth by the following claims.




WE CLAIM
1. A process tor the preparation of a bio-det solution for detection of bio-
Contamination in aviation fuel comprising of the following steps of
i) preparing a potato-dextrose-agar solution by dissolving approximately 39 gm of potato-dextrose-agar powder in 1000 ml of distilled water and 8-10 ml of the solution prepared is sterilised in an autoclave and cooled,
ii) preparing a tiphenyl tetrazolium chloride by dissolving approximately 0.2 gm of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride in 5ml of distilled water and refrigerating the solution immediately after preparation,
iii) preparing a sterile aviation fuel by filtering the aviation fuel through a..04 micron membrane filter,
iv) mixing the sterile aviation fuel from step (iii) with die sterilised potato-dextrose agar solution from step (i) and
v) adding .03 ml of triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution from step (ii) with the solution of step (iv) resulting in the bio-det solution.
2. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the potato-dextrose-agar solution is
sterilised on filing it in a thoroughly washed bottle and the bottle is then heated in
an autoclave at 12l°C and at 15 psi pressure for a period of 20 minutes.
3. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said mixing of said sterile aviation fuel
with said potato-dextrose-agar solution is done by mixing the sterile aviation fuel
prepared in step (iv) with the said potato-dextrose-agar solution contained in the
said sterilised bottle under laminar flow condition
4. A process for preparation of biodet solution for detection of bio-contamination of
aviation fuel substantially as described and exemplified herein.

Documents:

1154-del-2000-abstract.pdf

1154-del-2000-claims.pdf

1154-del-2000-correspondence-others.pdf

1154-del-2000-correspondence-po.pdf

1154-del-2000-description (complete).pdf

1154-del-2000-form-1.pdf

1154-del-2000-form-19.pdf

1154-del-2000-form-2.pdf

1154-del-2000-form-3.pdf

1154-del-2000-gpa.pdf


Patent Number 220347
Indian Patent Application Number 1154/DEL/2000
PG Journal Number 30/2008
Publication Date 25-Jul-2008
Grant Date 26-May-2008
Date of Filing 13-Dec-2000
Name of Patentee THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR (IPR)
Applicant Address
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 MARAKANI VENKATA RAMANI
PCT International Classification Number B65B 55/10
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 NA