PCR detection of Salmonella typhimurium in pharmaceutical raw materials and products contaminated with a mixed bacterial culture using the BAX system.

The BAX system, a PCR-based assay, was evaluated for detecting Salmonella typhimurium in pharmaceutical raw materials and products contaminated with mixed bacterial cultures of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium. Artificially contaminated samples were preenriched in lactose broth with and without Tween 20. After preenrichment, samples were analyzed by PCR and standard methods. Ten of 25 samples did not show presence of the specific Salmonella spp. 740-base pair DNA fragment. However, S. typhimurium was isolated and identified by standard methods from all 25 samples. To optimize S. typhimurium detection in PCR negative samples, lactose broth was replaced by buffered peptone water (BPW) as the preenrichment broth. When BPW was used, all 10 samples were PCR positive. BPW enrichments increased S. typhimurium growth resulting in rapid PCR detection. The presence of non-Salmonella bacteria influenced the performance of the PCR-based assay. Optimization of S. typhimurium PCR detection in mixed culture required the use of different preenrichment broths. However, the BAX system detected S. typhimurium within 27 hours while standard methods required 5-7 days.