Count on ProtoCOL

SYNBIOSIS' ProtoCol colony and plaque counter Some researchers spend weeks designing the perfect experiment and executing it with military precision, but before celebrating the fabulous results must confront the mundane chore of counting colonies. "Did I stay in school all these years to do this?" many wonder. In light of an ever-increasing pool of available technology, there must be a more efficient way to do this, right? Right. SYNBIOSIS' ProtoCOL automated colony counter puts an end to the ma

Written byAlison Paladichuk
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share


SYNBIOSIS' ProtoCol colony and plaque counter
Some researchers spend weeks designing the perfect experiment and executing it with military precision, but before celebrating the fabulous results must confront the mundane chore of counting colonies. "Did I stay in school all these years to do this?" many wonder. In light of an ever-increasing pool of available technology, there must be a more efficient way to do this, right? Right. SYNBIOSIS' ProtoCOL automated colony counter puts an end to the manual count-and-click method of tallying colonies.

Using upper-incident light or bottom-transmitted light, ProtoCOL can count colonies or plaques on poured or spiral plates in under a second, accurately recording count and size data as it does so. Unique software automatically compensates for sample and plate variations, such as agar thickness, and selected areas of plates can be removed from the count while an average count per unit area is applied to the ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

View this Issue
Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

cytiva logo
An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

cytiva logo
Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

cytiva logo

Products

shiftbioscience

Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery

brandtechscientific-logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Launches New Website for VACUU·LAN® Lab Vacuum Systems

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series