Antimicrobials and... forensics?
Thermo Fisher Scientific adds cefiderocol and imipenem/relebactam to their antimicrobial susceptibility testing platforms
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BASINGSTOKE, U.K. & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. reports that the antimicrobials cefiderocol and imipenem/relebactam are now available on the company’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved microbroth dilution susceptibility plates. This will expand testing options for microbiology laboratories, and provide the quantitative susceptibility results clinicians need to make treatment decisions for serious Gram-negative infections.
Cefiderocol and imipenem/relebactam represent two of the latest treatment options for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), including pyelonephritis. Imipenem/relebactam is also indicated for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI).
“As the incidence of multi-drug resistant organisms continues to increase, microbiologists are struggling to treat patients suffering from serious Gram negative infections, particularly those who have limited or no alternative treatment options,” said Bernd Hofmann, vice president of marketing for Thermo Fisher microbiology business. “We are committed to making new antibiotics quickly and widely available on the Sensititre System to support clinicians who aim to offer the latest treatments as part of diverse and robust Stewardship Programs.”
The Thermo Scientific Sensititre AST System is reportedly the first solution to offer both cefiderocol and imipenem/relebactam on IVD-labeled ready to use microbroth dilution susceptibility plates, with a large, up-to-date selections of FDA-cleared antimicrobials. The Sensititre System enables laboratories to use over 300 antimicrobials, and to create custom plates tailored to formulary, dilutions and patient population. This eliminates offline tests and reduces costs.
Both cefiderocol and imipenem/relebactam are available on Sensititre standard and custom plates, at concentration ranges of 0.03 – 32µg/mL and 0.03/4 – 16/4 µg/mL, respectively. They are compatible with both Sensititre Manual Viewbox, as well as the new ARIS HiQ benchtop automated reading and incubation system.
The Sensititre System uses the recognized accuracy of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results, which are essential to fighting antimicrobial resistance by providing greater sensitivity for better resistance tracking. True MIC results are also the best measure of antibacterial effect, which can assist with therapeutic choices and promote overall better patient care.
Thermo Fisher has also recently introduced a forensic laboratory-qualified automated nucleic acid extraction platform, in collaboration with Hamilton Company. Forensic scientists will now have access to the new ID NIMBUS Presto assay ready workstation, which is a rapid and easy-to-use automated DNA sample preparation system designed to extract nucleic acids from evidentiary crime scene samples.
This compact system is pre-configured and optimized for use with the Applied Biosystems PrepFiler Automated Forensic DNA Extraction Kit. It has been validated according to Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guidelines. Up to 96 samples may be processed simultaneously in deep-well plate format for use in sensitive downstream analyses like DNA quantification and STR analyses.
“Pairing the expertise of Hamilton’s liquid handling capability with Thermo Fisher Scientific’s nucleic acid purification strategy using KingFisher magnetic particle technology and PrepFiler extraction chemistry, we have been able to reduce sample preparation time in forensic laboratories by up to 80 percent. This reduction in time allows DNA analysts to process more crime scene samples faster, enabling more rapid prosecutions,” noted Martin Guillet, vice president and general manager of the human identification at Thermo Fisher Scientific, in a press release.
The ID NIMBUS Presto workstation uses magnetic particle-based technology to facilitate rapid high-quality nucleic acid purification, alleviating the risks of manual variability and errors. An integrated barcode scanning system creates a chain of custody report to verify each sample and correlate it with the case file and assigned analyst. Hamilton’s Compressed O-Ring Expansion (CO-RE) tips and air displacement pipetting technology offer reportedly superior pipetting accuracy and precision, while reducing the risk of liquid-induced contamination.
“This robust automated solution not only supports large volume processing with superior quality, it instills a high degree of confidence that extends from the forensic laboratory through the courtroom,” added Michael Mouradian, director of Robotics at Hamilton Company. “We are honored to have worked on this assay ready workstation with Thermo Fisher Scientific as a leader in human identification technologies and look forward to future joint projects that support the forensic market and the pursuit of justice.”
