Course Outline
Click on the links below to preview selected pages from this course.
- Some History of Development
- Prior to 1985
- Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae
- Human Papilloma Virus and Mycobacterium
- Hepatitis and Viral Load Testing
- Initially, why were molecular methods challenging to perform in routine clinical laboratories?
- Why were Chlamydia and Neisseria logical targets for the development of a commercial molecular assay?
- Potential Benefits of Molecular Methods over Traditional Microbiology
- Challenges for Implementing Molecular Microbiology
- Definitions and Principles of Basic Methods
- Overview of Molecular Methods
- Categories of Methods
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Detection and Identification of Polymerase Chain Reaction Products
- Detection and Identification of Polymerase Chain Reaction Products: Advantages of Real-Time PCR
- What are the two general categories of nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) techniques?
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) copies DNA through repeated cycles of three basic steps. What is the correct order of these steps?
- Which statement about melt curve analysis is false?
- Application to Infectious Diseases
- Assays of Interest for Infectious Disease [Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)]
- Assays of Interest for Infectious Disease [Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses]
- Assays of Interest for Infectious Disease [Clostridioides difficile]
- Clinical Significance of Clostridioides difficile
- Previous Methodologies: Culture and Cell Cytotoxicity Neutralization Assay
- Other Methodologies: Antigenic Detection of Toxin and Glutamate Dehydrogenase
- Molecular Methods
- Example #1
- Example #2
- Other Examples
- Several methods of detection are available for detecting Clostridioides difficile (previously known as Clostridium difficile) in clinical samples. Whi...
- What statement about the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) assay for Clostridioides difficile is true?
- Which of the following statements about the cell cytotoxicity neutralization assay (CCNA) for Clostridioides difficile (formerly known as Clostridium ...
- The Future of Development
- References
Additional Information
Level of Instruction: Intermediate
Intended Audience: Medical laboratory scientists, medical
laboratory technicians, and personnel working in the microbiology and molecular sections of the laboratory. This
course is also appropriate for MLS and MLT students and pathology residents.
Author Information: Catherine Dragoni, MT(ASCP)SM, received her BS degree in medical technology from the State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse. She began her career as a bench microbiologist at Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine. She has experience as the Assistant Chief Technologist of Microbiology and Molecular Pathology at NorDx Laboratories, Scarborough, Maine.
Reviewer Information:
Laurie Bjerklie, MA, MLS(ASCP)CM, is
an Education Developer for MediaLab and LabCE. She earned a B.S. in Medical
Laboratory Science from the University of North Dakota and an M.A. in
Curriculum and Instruction from Saint Xavier University. She has over 15 years
of experience in higher education and has held program director and faculty
positions in both MLT and MLS programs.
Dr. Julie Ann West is certified by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) as a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) and as a Specialist in Microbiology (SM). In addition, Dr. West has earned a PhD in Public Health - Infectious Disease Epidemiology - and is Certified in Public Health (CPH) by the National Board of Public Health Examiners. Dr. West is experienced as a Technical Specialist, Safety Officer, Educator, and Lead in the Veterans Administration Healthcare System and has prior experience as an Administrative Laboratory Director.
Course Description: This course offers a historical look at the progression of molecular methods in the clinical laboratory. It discusses the advantages of these molecular methods over traditional microbiology and the requirements and challenges faced during implementation in a routine clinical setting. Basic methods and molecular techniques are described, including the principle reactions of some assays of current interest for infectious diseases.
