TB Digestant

Digest and decontaminate clinical specimens prior to inoculation of media for isolation of Mycobacterium species with Thermo Scientific™ Remel™ TB Digestant. Respiratory specimens such as sputum contain mucin, which traps microorganisms. Such specimens require liquefaction to release the mycobacterial cells prior to inoculation of media. The N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) method is the widely used procedure for digestion and decontamination of specimens for recovery of Mycobacterium spp¹. TB Digestant has also been used successfully in Petroff's sodium hydroxide digestion method².

The majority of clinical specimens submitted to the microbiology laboratory for isolation of acid-fast bacilli are contaminated with more rapidly growing commensal microbial flora. TB Digestant decontaminates the specimen by reducing or eliminating commensal microbial flora and digests respiratory secretions, releasing mycobacterial cells for detection in stains and cultures.

• Ready-to-use – Liquid reagent supplied in 250mL bottle
• Easy-to-store – Store at room temperature until used

TB Digestant contains 4% sodium hydroxide (CAS 1310-73-2) in demineralized water (CAS 7732-18-5). Specimens should remain in contact with the decontaminating solution for no longer than 15 minutes. Overprocessing may result in reduced recovery rates of Mycobacterium spp².

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Remel™ and Oxoid™ products are now part of the Thermo Scientific brand.