[Microbiology] Re: machine/database used to find out
bacteria/virus/drug tia sal2
(by physchem from verizon.net)
Sat Jun 7 10:08:52 EST 2008
I know something about microbiology, and more about
spectroscopy. Microbiologists don't use spectral lines to
identify bacteria. There is some reserach on using
molecular spectra to identify bacteria, but it is nor part
of clinical practice.
> Thanks for the reply I was just looking for an overall database that
> included the spectra lines....this one is nice but you have to pay for
> it....I'm looking for a free one.....any recommendations
> On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:14:13 -0400, John Gentile wrote:
>> On 2008-06-06 14:50:35 -0400, sal2 <sal2 from sal2.com> said:
>>> Greetings All
>>> When doctors take samples of blood/urine to find out what
>>> bacteria/virus/ drug they have. What type of machine is used to find
>>> out what type of bacteria/virus/drug that is in their system? I'm
>>> trying to find out the machine they use and the database they use to
>>> cross check bacteria/ viruses/drugs against each other.
>>> tia sal2
>> Are you thinking that it is as easy to pour blood or urine into a
>> machine and out comes an answer? No that is not how it works and it is a
>> very complex set of procedures to determine what infection a person has.
>> Bacteria are isolated by culture, which means that a sample is placed on
>> some kind of nutrient broth or agar and in a few days a microbiologist
>> or a technologist will examine the growth and determine what kind of
>> bacteria it is. There are thousands of different bacteria and the
>> scientist must use his or her knowledge of bacteria to determine what
>> tests to use to identify it. My "database" is basically in my head! If I
>> have to use a reference, I usually use Bergy's Manual or the American
>> Society of Microbiology manual of clinical microbiology. Once it is
>> identified then we can apply different antibiotics to the culture to see
>> which ones will kill it. Viruses are also grown in cultures, but of a
>> very different matrix - they must be living cells for viruses to grow. I
>> can't answer to how the different viruses are identified since I've
>> never worked in a virology lab.
>> And what kinds of drugs are you talking about - again there are many
>> complex methods for measuring drugs in a sample. Maybe you need to do
>> some more research on this subject and ask the questions again.
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