Comparison of Minitek and Conventional Methods for the Biochemical Characterization of Oral Streptococci.

摘要

Fifty-six strains of viridans streptococci were tested in the Minitek system (BBL, Cockeysville, MD) and the results were compared with those obtained by conventional methods. An overall agreement of 98.9% was obtained when the Minitek tests were performed as follows: (1) All disks were incubated anaerobically for 48 h except for esculin which required 5-7 days. (2) the arginine disks were overlaid with 0.1 ml sterile mineral oil even though incubated anaerobically. (3) The Voges-Proskauer tests were performed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. (4) All tests for carbohydrate fermentation except for raffinose and salicin were read following the addition of 2 - 3 drops of 0.025% phenol red. Of all the tests performed, only the fermentation of starch resulted in such poor agreement as to be considered unreliable. (Author)