Microbiology Techniques and Tests Quiz

Microbiology Techniques and Tests Summary

• Proper biopsies are essential for correct isolation and identification of microorganisms, avoiding contamination and damage to the specimen.
• Anaerobic growth conditions are crucial for certain infections like Clostridia, which require specific growth conditions.
• Different types of growth media, including general purpose, enriched, selective, and differential, support the growth and identification of various microorganisms.
• Eosin methylene blue (EMB) media is selective and differential, aiding in the isolation of Gram-negative microorganisms like Escherichia coli and Salmonella.
• Biochemical tests in media look for the ability to ferment sugars and gas production, aiding in the identification of microorganisms.
• Immunological tests, such as antibody-antigen interactions, focus on specificity and sensitivity to diagnose infections without cross-reactions or false positives.
• Assay sensitivity levels vary based on the test employed, such as agglutination reaction, radioimmuno assay (RIA), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• Neutralisation tests, like viral neutralisation and viral hemagglutination tests, assess the ability of antibodies to neutralize biological activity of pathogens or toxins, and clump surface proteins of viruses.
• Fluorescent immunoglobulins (Igs) modified with fluorescent dyes are used to detect antigens on cells, with direct and indirect labelling methods.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) utilizes enzyme labels and steps to detect antigens or Igs present in a sample.
• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and LAMP are molecular techniques used for amplifying specific DNA regions and carrying out reactions at a constant temperature.
• Other technologies like MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry in clinical labs can identify different bacteria based on their signature profiles.