PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Odlaug, Theron E. AU - Jarzynski, Vickie AU - Caputo, Ross A. AU - Mascoli, Carmine C. TI - Evaluation of an Automated System for Rapid Identification of <em>Bacillus</em> Biological Indicators and Other <em>Bacillus</em> Species DP - 1982 Mar 01 TA - PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology PG - 47--54 VI - 36 IP - 2 4099 - http://journal.pda.org/content/36/2/47.short 4100 - http://journal.pda.org/content/36/2/47.full SO - PDA J Pharm Sci Technol1982 Mar 01; 36 AB - An automated, computerized system currently used in some clinical laboratories for the rapid identification of Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-negative nonfermenting bacteria, was evaluated as a method for the rapid identification of Bacillus sp. The emphasis in the evaluation was on Bacillus sp. commonly used as biological indicators in sterilization processes (i.e., B. stearothermophilus, B. subtilis, B. subtilis subspecies niger, and B. pumilus). The system consists of a plastic “card“ with enclosed wells, containing lyophilized media and reagents. By introducing a sample from a pure culture, the media were rehydrated and inoculated into the card. The card was incubated in a reader/incubator module where an automated optical system monitored changes in the media, and a microcomputer then processed the data resulting in an identification in 16-24 hr. Over 50 strains of Bacillus sp. representing 11 species were tested. The overall rate of correct identification for the AMS was 92%, indicating that the system is reliable for the rapid identification of Bacillus sp.