This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pope, V.
Right arrow Articles by Castro, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pope, V.
Right arrow Articles by Castro, A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 3053-3054, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0

Replacement for 30-Milliliter Flat-Bottomed, Glass-Stoppered, Round Bottles Used in VDRL Antigen Preparation

Victoria Pope* and Arnold Castro

Bacterial STD Branch, Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

Received 5 April 1999/Returned for modification 6 May 1999/Accepted 4 June 1999

When the flat-bottomed, glass-stoppered, round bottle traditionally used to make VDRL antigen was discontinued, an appropriate substitute was needed. Although many laboratories have switched to one of the other nontreponemal tests for syphilis serology screening, the VDRL test remains the only approved procedure for testing spinal fluids of patients with possible neurosyphilis. We tested 25-ml glass-stoppered, convex-bottomed Erlenmeyer flasks to determine if these could be used as appropriate substitutes. We tested 52 reactive sera and 54 nonreactive sera by using one reference antigen prepared in the traditional flat-bottomed bottles and five antigens prepared in the Erlenmeyer flasks. Results with all serum samples were comparable. We also tested two lots of a commercial antigen plus an additional lot of reference antigen. Again there was no difference in the reactivity of the antigens. Therefore, we conclude that 25-ml glass-stoppered Erlenmeyer flasks can be used as an appropriate substitute for glass-stoppered, flat-bottomed, round glass bottles in the making of VDRL antigen.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: BSTDB/DASTLR/NCID/CDC, Mail Stop D13, Atlanta, GA 30333. Phone: (404) 639-3224. Fax: (404) 639-3976. E-mail: vxp1{at}cdc.gov.


Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 1999, p. 3053-3054, Vol. 37, No. 9
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0