Next-Level Screening for Antimicrobial Resistance | TS Digest

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious and growing problem for which the current arsenal of antibiotics is insufficient and the availability of new treatments is limited.¹ As a result, identifying and monitoring the pervasiveness of resistant microbes is critical to early mitigation approaches. Researchers seek effective strategies to test for the AMR genes that underlie a broad range of resistance mechanisms, including extended-spectrum β-lactamases, carbapenemases, and plasmid-mediated ampC.² This can often be challenging, given the need for rapid techniques that are broad enough to capture the many gene variants, yet sensitive and specific enough to generate robust and reliable data.

Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays are routinely used to identify small quantities of target molecules. While this approach is the gold standard for many applications, traditional methodologies do not provide scientists with the speed and multiplexing capabilities that are required to meet the detection needs of large-scale pathogen screening.

As a result, scientists pursuing AMR research seek novel tools to streamline molecular testing workflows and output. For example, Streck ARM-D kits enable AMR screening after phenotypic testing and before whole genome sequencing. These ready to use kits contain the full suite of reagents and controls, with straightforward protocols and data analysis. The comprehensive ARM-D RT-PCR kits are fast, reliable, sensitive, and specific, and detect over one thousand variants from over two dozen AMR gene target families for superior antibiotic resistance surveillance, infection control, and antibiotic stewardship efforts.

Learn more about AMR molecular testing.

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