About the product

Molecular Culture is the first diagnostic test that can detect the vast majority of bacterial species in a single assay. It has been optimized to provide accurate results on bacterial presence in precious invasively collected samples, such as cerebrospinal fluid, pus, and joint aspirates.

Molecular Culture relies on the IS-pro™ platform technology. The technique is based on species-specific length polymorphisms of the bacterial interspace (IS) region and phylum-specific sequence polymorphisms of 16S rDNA. This approach allows accurate characterization of bacteria, from single species to complex communities alike. Moreover, the high level of standardisation of the entire process, coupled with a novel multi-purpose internal control, guarantees highly accurate results.

With Molecular Culture clinicians do not need to decide in advance which bacteria to look for. Unlike culture or traditional PCR-based methods, IS-pro™ is not selective and even unknown species will be detected. Molecular Culture relies on the detection of DNA, so even uncultivable or antibiotic-treated bacteria can be easily identified . Molecular Culture has a fast and easy diagnostic workflow, generating reliable and actionable results within 5 hours and without requiring out-of-the-ordinary equipment or advanced bioinformatics pipelines.

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Quick Results

  • From sample to actionable results in less than 5 hours
  • Simultaneous detection of all bacteria in a sample, from single species to complex microbiota
  • Fast set-up, requires minimum training of operators
dna string

Universal Bacterial Detection

  • Detection of uncultivable micro-organisms
  • Detection of antibiotic-treated micro-organisms
  • No need to pre-define specific targets, detection of known and unknown species
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Ease of Use

  • No need for specialized equipment and limited training
  • High flexibility, applicable for a wide variety of clinical samples
  • Quick and simple workflow, fully automated data analysis with low hands-on time

Specifications

Molecular Culture is intended to be used for detection and identification of bacteria isolated from pus, punctate, drain fluid (ascites fluid), cerebrospinal fluid, joint aspirate, tissue, and water.

Bacteria can be relatively quantified, based on their proportion of the total bacterial population within a specimen. Total peak height of a sample is correlated to absolute quantification. Molecular Culture is used by professional user, not for self-testing.

Marked Yes
Internal amplification control Yes
Sample types Pus aspirates, Punctate, Drain fluid (ascites fluid), Synovial fluid, Cerebrospinal fluid, Joint aspirate, Water and Various tissue specimens.
Validated Machines / consumables ABI 3500 (CE/IVD marked)
ABI 3130
SeqStudio (coming soon)
Bacteria in Database Download PDF
Kit content 24 samples;
Mastermix with internal control
Positive control
IS-pro™ eMix
Detected Phyla Firmicutes,
Actinobacteria,
Fusobacteria,
Verrucomicrobia,
Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria
IFU Download PDF

Use Cases

Case one

A 60 year old man presented with lower back pain, MRI showed a possible infection. No bacteria were found in a sample of the infected area by traditional culture. The same sample was found to be positive for S. anginosus with Molecular Culture. The patient was not treated with antibiotics, because traditional culture was negative. A month later, the patient returned with increased pain. Now traditional culture showed presence of S. anginosus  and the patient was treated and recovered. With Molecular Culture, the diagnosis was made faster and the patient could have been cured much sooner.

Case two

A four year old girl showed symptoms of meningitis and she was treated with antibiotics in the ambulance on her way to the hospital. With traditional culture, no bacteria were found in a cerebrospinal fluid sample. With Molecular Culture, the same sample showed high levels of S. pneumoniae. The girl was treated and made a full recovery. Because of early treatment, the cause of the infection could no longer be found with traditional culture. With Molecular Culture, the DNA of the causative bacteria could still be found and the diagnosis was made.

Case three

A 72 year old man was admitted to the hospital with complaints after intestinal surgery. An abscess was found in the abdomen. A sample from the abscess showed E. coli and C. perfringens with traditional culture. Molecular culture also detected E. coli and C. perfringens, but additionally found five different Bacteroides species, which are typically very difficult to culture. The patient was treated with broad spectrum antibiotics, covering all identified organisms and made a recovery. Molecular Culture was able to find more bacteria than could be detected by traditional culture.

Literature references