Publication: Identification of Mycobacteria by Thin Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Mycolic Acids and Conventional Biochemical Method: Four Years of Experience
Loading...
Date
Advisor
Coadvisor
Graduate program
Undergraduate course
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde
Type
Article
Access right
Acesso aberto
Abstract
Mycolic acids analysis by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) has been employed by several laboratories worldwide as a method for fast identification of mycobacteria. This method was introduced in Brazil by our laboratory in 1992 as a routine identification technique. Up to the present, 861 strains isolated were identified by mycolic acids TLC and by standard biochemical tests; 61% out of these strains came as clinical samples, 4% isolated from frogs and 35% as environmental samples. Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains identified by classical methods were confirmed by their mycolic acids contents (I, III and IV). The method allowed earlier differentiation of M. avium complex - MAC (mycolic acids I, IV and VI) from M. simiae (acids I, II and IV), both with similar biochemical properties. The method also permitted to distinguish M. fortuitum (acids I and V) from M. chelonae (acids I and II) , and to detect mixed mycobacterial infections cases as M. tuberculosis with MAC and M. fortuitum with MAC. Concluding, four years experience shows that mycolic acids TLC is an easy, reliable, fast and inexpensive method, an important tool to put together conventional mycobacteria identification methods.
Description
Keywords
mycobacteria identification, mycolic acids, thin layer chromatography
Language
English
Citation
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, v. 93, n. 6, p. 801-805, 1998.
