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. 1976 Jun;9(6):874–878. doi: 10.1128/aac.9.6.874

Rapid Microbiological Assay for Chloramphenicol and Tetracyclines

Thomas J Louie 1, Francis P Tally 1, John G Bartlett 1, Sherwood L Gorbach 1
PMCID: PMC429642  PMID: 180881

Abstract

An agar diffusion assay for chloramphenicol and tetracyclines is described, using inhibition of hemolysis by Clostridium perfringens as a biological indicator of antimicrobial activity. Well-defined zones formed after a 1.5- to 2-h incubation in an anaerobic chamber or after 3 h using a GasPak system. Serum levels of chloramphenicol as low as 2.0 μg/ml could be reproducibly determined with this method. Concurrent presence of gentamicin did not influence the assay. Levels of penicillin G were also reproducibly determined with this method, although use of stable zones of growth inhibition which would form after overnight incubation were a more convenient end point for this bactericidal drug. The hemolytic assay with C. perfringens is a reproducible, accurate, and rapid method for determination of levels for chloramphenicol and tetracyclines.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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