CA1114271A - Assay of gram-negative bacteria - Google Patents

Assay of gram-negative bacteria

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Publication number
CA1114271A
CA1114271A CA325,901A CA325901A CA1114271A CA 1114271 A CA1114271 A CA 1114271A CA 325901 A CA325901 A CA 325901A CA 1114271 A CA1114271 A CA 1114271A
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Canada
Prior art keywords
bacteria
active agent
gram
liquid phase
fluid
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Expired
Application number
CA325,901A
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French (fr)
Inventor
Gary C. Du Moulin
John Hedley-Whyte
Susan E. Lynch
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Harvard College
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Harvard College
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    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12QMEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
    • C12Q1/00Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
    • C12Q1/02Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving viable microorganisms
    • C12Q1/04Determining presence or kind of microorganism; Use of selective media for testing antibiotics or bacteriocides; Compositions containing a chemical indicator therefor

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Zoology (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Proteomics, Peptides & Aminoacids (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Toxicology (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Microbiology (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Biotechnology (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Genetics & Genomics (AREA)
  • Measuring Or Testing Involving Enzymes Or Micro-Organisms (AREA)

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A procedure and kit for assay of Gram-negative bacteria in biological fluids by lysing cells in the fluid at pH 6 to 8, removing cellular debris, sedimenting microorganisms from the liquid phase at 5,000 G or more, incubat-ing the microorganisms with Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate in aqueous medium, and measuring the amount of resultant turbidity.

Description

Z`71 This invention relates to a method oE assaying Gramrnegative bacteria in biological fluids and to a kit for conducting such an assay.
It has previously been proposed to employ gelation of the lysate of amebocytes of Limulus polyphemus (L~L) as a test for the presence of bacterial endotoxins in biological fluids, but studies have shown that sevexal pyrogenic compounds other than such endotoxins give positive test results, as reported by Elin et al., J. of Infectious Diseases, Vol. 128, 349-352 (1973). Cther studies have shown that the L~L test for endotoxin in blood samples in many cases fails to correlate with blood cultures showing the presence of a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. M~rtinez-G et al., J. of Infectious Diseases Vol. 127, 102-105 (1973). For these reasons, the I~L test has not been effective for assay of biological fluids such as blood even though it has been quantified for determining biomass of Gram-negative bacteria in sea water by Watson et al., Applied and Environm~ntal Microbiol., Vol. 33, 940-946 (1977).
The present invention is based on the discovery that if Gram-negative bacteria in the biological fluid are separated from extraneous sources of pyrogen as well as fram free endotoxin, the amount of lipopoly-saccharide produced by incubation of the Gram-negative bacteria with LimMlus polyphemus amebocyte lysate can be taken as a quantitative measure of the amount of bacteria present in the specimen fluid. me present invention is particularly useful for assaying Gram~negative bacteria in blood but is also applicable to other biological fluids such as cerebro-spinal fluid, urine, ascites, etc.
The present inven~ion accordingly provides a method of assaying Gram-negative bacteria content in biological fluids containing blood cells which comprises lysing blood cells present in the fluid at pH 6 to 8, separating cellular debris from the bacteria-containing liquid phase, separating the bacteria ., , , . . . . .

from the liquid phase, preferably by subjecting the liquid phase to a force of at least 5,000 G to separate microorganisms from said liquid by sedimentation, washing the separated bacteria to remove pyrogens therefrom, incubating said bacteria with Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate, and measuring the amount of turbidity formed during said incubation.
The invention also provides a kit for assay of Gram-negative bac-teria in a biological fluid comprising a container of blood-cell-lysing surface-active agent, a container of mulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate, and one or more standard dilutions containing known amounts of Gram-negative bacteria.
The first step of the process, the lysing of the cells present in the biological fluid at pH 6-8, is preferably brought about by mixing the fluid specimen with an aqueous solution of a surface-active agent; a clear, sparkling lysate is produced in a few minutes on standing at room temperature.
The surface-active agents employed are preferably non-ionic, such as condensates of ethylene oxide with hydrophobic bases formed by condensing propylene oxide;
or alkylphenoxy polyethoxylates such as octylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol, iso-octylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol, decylphenoxy polyethoxy ethanol, and the like. Particularly preferred is octylphenoxy polyethoxy (9-10) ethanol sold under the trade mark Triton X-100. The concentration of surface-active agent may vary over a wide range, e.g. from 0.1 to 10% by weight of the biological fluid, preferably from 0.5 to 1.5% by weight. The surface-active agent is preferably first dissolved in water (pyrogen-free) to provide a solution containing 0.01 to 1% by weight of surface-active agent, and the biological fluid is mixed with the aqueous solution in appropriate proportions to provide the desired ratio of surface-active agent to biological fluid. The solution of surface-active agent preferably also contains a buffer such as sodium carbonate-sodium bicarbonate at O.OIM to maintain the pH not only of the solution, but also of the mixture of the solution with the biological fluid, ' G, ,ii ' ;,.

-, . . ' . . ..
: : ' . ' ' .

.. , ', " " 1 '; ''` .: :,, . ', . :

'7~

at 6 to 8.
After lyslng of the cells as described above, the relatively coarse cellular debris is separated from the liquid phase, preferably by filtration.
The filter used must be pyrogen-free and have a pore size sufficiently large ~5 to 60 micrometers, preferably 40-60 micrometers) to pass microorganisms with the liquid phase while retaining the largerparticle size solid cellular debris.
The microorganisms are then separated rom the liquid phase, pre-ferably by subjecting the liquid phase to a force of at least 5000 G, prefer-ably 5000 to 12,000 G, for example by centrifugation, to cause sedimentation and separation o the microorganisms from the liquid phase on to a collection surface such as the surface of a glass or plastic centrifuge tube. Following sedimentation, the supernatant liquid phase is removed, preferably by aspir-ation, and the sedimented microorganisms are washed at least once with pyrogen-free water from which they are again separated by sedimentation. The deposit or pellet of microorganisms is then ready for the next stage of the method.
After aspiration o the supernatant, the washed sedimented micro-organisms are preerably further treated by resuspending in a small quantity o pyrogen-free water and ~iltering through a pyrogen-free filter having a pore size of 0.4 to 0.6 micrometers which retains the microorganisms while permitting residual small partlcles o blood cell stroma to pass through as waste. The microorganisms are then suspended in a suitable aqueous medium such as a pyrogen-free 3% aqueous saline ~sodium chloride) solution to form a suspension of the microorganisms. This suspension Cor an aliquot of the suspension~ is then incubated with Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate, pre-ferably a~ a constant temperature between 35 and 45C. for about one hour.
A blank or control procedure is carried out in parallel using sterile 3%

;~, aqueous saline in place of the specimen obtained from the biological fluid, to provide a zero standard for the spectro-photometer~ During the incubation period, ~urbidity develops in the dispersion because of the formation of a precipitate or coagulate) and the amount of this turbidity is determined by measuring optical density by conventional procedures, as described for example by Watson et al., Appliod and Environmental MiGrobiol., Vol. 33, 940-946 tl977). A series of standard solutions containing known amounts of Gram-negative bacteria such as scherichia ~E. coli), Klebsiella CK. pneumonia), Bacteroides ~B. fragilis) or the like, or containing ~nown amounts of endotoxins such as E. coli endotoxin, are also incubated separately with L. polyphemus amebocyte lysate. After subtraction o the optical density values for the blank from those o the unknown specimen samples and from those for the standard solutions, the quantity of Gram-negative bacteria in the unknown can readily be determined by comparing the optical density for the unknown sample with a standard curve constructed from the results obtained with the known standards. When the standard used is an endotoxin, a correct-ion factor is employed to convert the results into biomass of Gram-negative bacteria. The procedure of the present invention provides a sensitivity as low as 20 Gram-negative bacteria per milliliter of biological fluid.
The assay of the present invention is of particular importance not only because of its sensitivity but because it can be completed in a short time, less than 4 hours. The invasion of the bloodstream with Gram-negative bacteria is a serious and often life-threatening complication to many clinical disorders as well as precursor to post-operative surgical sepsis. The ser-iousness of bacteremia is further emphasized by the increasing numbers of patients with immunod~ficient conditions brought on by anti-neoplastic treat-ment, since bacteremia is associated with a high patient mortality. In the light of these facts, the rapid and accurate diagnosis of bacteremia made l~ Z~

possible by the assay of the present invention is an important advance in the art.
The ollowing specific example wi;Ll serve to illustrate more fully the nature of the present invention without acting as a limitation upon its scope.
Example A 4 ml aliquot of a venous blood sample collected in a heparinized syringe by venipuncture after skin decontamination is added to a pyrogen free glass flask containing 36 ml of a lyslng solution consisting of pyrogen-free water containing 0.1% by weight of octylphenoxy polyphenoxy ~9-10~ ethanol ~sold under the trade mark - Triton X-100) and O.OlM sodium carbonate-sodium bicarbonate having a pH of 6-8. After gentle mixing of the contents, the flask is allowed to stand at room temperature until complete sparkling lysis is observed, which occurs in about 3-5 minutes. A known sterile blood sample is treated in the ldentical manner to serve as a control. Each lysed sample is then subjected to vacuum filtration through a 60 ml coarse Allihn ilter-ing tube having a sintered glass filter surface ~40-60 micrometer pore dia-meter).
The filtra~e from each specimen is then divided into two 20 ml.
aliquots which are plaeed in 30 ml pyrogen-free centriuge tubes, covered with anodized aliminum caps and subjected to centrifugation in a T-30 fixed angle rotor at 10,000 G for 15 minutes ln an ultracentrifuge at ambient temperature.
At the completion of centrifugation, the supernatant liquid was removed by careful aspiration leaving an almost invisible pellet composed of micro-organisms and small blood cell fragments on the inner surface of the tube.
The pellet was resuspended in 10 ml of sterile distilled pyrogen-free water and after gentle mixing was again subjected to centrifugation and separation of the supernatant under the same conditions. This washing procedure was .~

- ,:.: : . . ::. :.. :, . :., . : .. :: :.

repeated a second time~
After the second washing and removal of the supernatan~ liquid, the pellet was suspended in 1 ml of a saline solution containing 3% by weight sodium chloride in pyrogen-free water.
Each 1 ml aliquot sample was then transferred to a separate test tube. Into other test tubes, there were introduced as standards 1 ml each o various dilutions in 3% aqueous saline of stock E. coli to provide known concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 organisms/ml. A blank was prepared by adding 1 ml of 3% saline to anothcr test tube.
To each tube there was added 0.2 ml of reconstituted Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate obtained from a commercial source. After gentle shaking, all the tubes were incubated in a water bath at 40C for 60 minutes.
After incubation, the tubes were again gently shaken and the optical density of the liquid was read lndividually ln a small volume cuvette a~ 360 nm. The optical density of the blank was subtracted rom the optical density of each unknown and of each standard. A standard curve was drawn from the optical densities of the known standards so that by interpola~ion of the optical density for the unknown sample on the standard curve, the number of organisms present in the unknown could be dete-rmined.
Similar results can be achieved by applying the assay procedure to other biological fluids.
A kit suitable for carrylng out the assay of the present invention can be provided in the form of a container, e.g., a vial containing the cell-lysing agent or solution described above, a container of Limulus amebocyte lysate and one or more standard dilutions of Gram-negative bacteria or Gram-negative endotoxin such as E. coll endotoxln. All apparatus including filters and test tubes and all water employed in the assay must be pyrogen-free.

,.

Claims (13)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method of assaying Gram-negative bacteria content in biological fluids containing blood cells which comprises lysing blood cells present in the fluid at pH 6 to 8, separating cellular debris from the bacteria-containing liquid phase, separating the bacteria from the liquid phase and washing them to remove pyrogens therefrom, incubating said bacteria with Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate, and measuring the amount of turbidity formed during said incubation.
2. The method claimed in claim 1 in which the bacteria are separated from the liquid phase by subjecting the liquid phase to a force of at least 5000 G to separate bacteria from said liquid by sedimentation.
3. The method claimed in claim 1 in which the step of lysing the blood cells of the biological fluid comprises mixing the fluid with a surface-active agent.
4. The method claimed in claim 1 in which the cellular debris is separated by filtration through a pyrogen-free filter and the sedimentation of bacteria is carried out by centrifugation at 5000 to 12,000 G.
5. The method claimed in claim 1 in which the biological fluid is blood.
6. The method claimed in claim 5 in which the step of lysing the blood cells of the biological fluid comprises mixing the fluid with a surface-active agent.
7. The method claimed in claim 5 in which the cellular debris is separated by filtration through a pyrogen-free filter and the separation of bacteria is carried out by centrifugation at 5000 to 12,000 G.
8. The method claimed in claim 6 in which the cellular debris is separated by filtration through a pyrogen-free filter and the separation of bacteria is carried out by centrifugation at 5000 to 12,000 G.
9. The method claimed in claim 7 in which the surface-active agent is nonionic.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8 in which the surface-active agent is nonionic.
11. The method as claimed in claim 9 in which the surface-active agent is octylphenoxy polyethoxy (9-10) ethanol.
12. The method as claimed in claim 10 in which the surface-active agent is octylphenoxy polyethoxy (9-10) ethanol.
13. A kit for assay of Gram-negative bacteria in a biological fluid comprising a container of blood-cell-lysing surface-active agent, a container of Limulus polyphemus amebocyte lysate, and one or more standard dilutions containing known amounts of Gram-negative bacteria.
CA325,901A 1978-04-20 1979-04-19 Assay of gram-negative bacteria Expired CA1114271A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US89829178A 1978-04-20 1978-04-20
US898,291 1986-08-20

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1114271A true CA1114271A (en) 1981-12-15

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Country Status (9)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS54149699A (en)
BE (1) BE875716A (en)
CA (1) CA1114271A (en)
CH (1) CH641493A5 (en)
DE (1) DE2915569A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2423784A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2019563B (en)
IT (1) IT1119718B (en)
NL (1) NL7902983A (en)

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4322217A (en) 1980-06-27 1982-03-30 Mallinckrodt, Inc. Process for preparing Limulus lysate
US5594113A (en) * 1988-06-23 1997-01-14 Associates Of Cape Cod, Inc. Endotoxin binding and neutralizing protein and uses thereof
CN104777291B (en) 2007-10-10 2017-09-12 普凯尔德诊断技术有限公司 System for identifying bacterium in urine
CN110967298A (en) 2008-02-05 2020-04-07 普凯尔德诊断技术有限公司 System for identifying bacteria in biological samples
US10288632B2 (en) 2009-09-21 2019-05-14 Pocared Diagnostics Ltd. System for conducting the identification of bacteria in biological samples
GB2477752A (en) * 2010-02-11 2011-08-17 Arab Biotechnology Company Detection of bacteria
EP2931915B1 (en) 2012-12-11 2022-08-03 Pocared Diagnostics Ltd. Optics cup with curved bottom

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH641493A5 (en) 1984-02-29
FR2423784B3 (en) 1982-02-26
FR2423784A1 (en) 1979-11-16
IT1119718B (en) 1986-03-10
DE2915569A1 (en) 1979-11-08
IT7921820A0 (en) 1979-04-12
GB2019563B (en) 1982-07-28
JPS54149699A (en) 1979-11-24
NL7902983A (en) 1979-10-23
BE875716A (en) 1979-08-16
GB2019563A (en) 1979-10-31

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