RAPID-SENSITIVITY TEST AGAR

Description

The goal of an antimicrobial susceptibility test is to predict through an in vitro assessment the likelihood of successfully treating an infection with a particular antimicrobial agent. There are several continual or novel methods for performing antibacterial susceptibility testing. These include the disk diffusion test, broth microdilution, agar gradient and rapid automated instrument methods. Rapid-Sensitivity Test Agar, which is used for antimicrobial susceptibility tests, is a semi-defined medium in which the mineral contents have been stabilized to give reproducible results. The thiamine and thymidine content is very low thus making it most suitable for testing antimicrobial activity of sulphonamides. However, some mutant strains which are totally dependent on thiamine and thymidine for their growth, will not grow on Rapid-Sensitivity Test Agar, due to very low levels of these compounds in the media as they are the naturally occurring antagonist of trimethoprim.