AFB diagnostics rely on a high pH digestion-decontamination process to minimize contaminating organisms from patient samples. A high pH will kill contaminant organisms first, but mycobacteria will quickly die if exposed for too long. The reagents found in the NAC-PAC™ EA3 have improved the efficiency of AFB diagnostics and reduce the occurrence of contaminated and reprocessed samples by controlling pH throughout the specimen preparation process.
Each NAC-PAC™ EA3 includes six trays designed for use in the biological safety cabinet. Each tray contains NAC-PAC™ Red digestion / decontamination solution and individually packaged NPC-67™ Neutralization Buffer and Pellet Resuspension Buffer. This combination of unique reagents decontaminates the sample, provides visual confirmation of a neutral pH, generates effective neutralization without titration, creates ideal final sample characteristics, and with individual patient test packaging, alleviates contamination concerns. These measures of control are unavailable in conventional reagents and allow for greater recovery of mycobacteria and increased diagnostic accuracy.