Automated Real-Time PCR Detection of Tickborne Diseases Using the Panther Fusion Open Access System

Abstract

Since the incidence of tickborne diseases has been accelerating in the United States, automation for testing has become essential in affected regions. Unfortunately, because the need is regional, commercial test manufacturers have not yet provided answers for clinical laboratories.

Optimization and Clinical Evaluation of an Automated Commercial Analyte-Specific Reagent Assay for Mycoplasmoides genitalium Macrolide Resistance Detection in Primary Clinical Specimens

“…The Panther Fusion system open access channel has previously been utilized in direct detection or characterization of bacterial ( 41 ), parasitic ( 41 ), and viral ( 42 – 46 ) agents of disease and was posited in this study as an automated option for MRM determination within primary specimens testing positive for M. genitalium rRNA. Initial experimentation revealed that incubation of IVT wild-type 23S rRNA with high-concentration MRM primer and detection probe sequences, as well as an increased concentration of MgCl 2 , resulted in a propensity toward false-detections of macrolide resistance.…”