Molecular detection of Burkholderia cepacia in toiletry, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical raw materials and finished products

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed and compared with sta ndard methods for rapid detection of Burkholderia cepacia, a major industri al contaminant, in cosmetic and pharmaceutical raw materials and finished p roducts. Artificially contaminated samples were incubated for 24 h in trypt icase soy broth containing 4% Tween 20 and 0.5% soy lecithin, DNA was extra cted from each sample using a proteinase K-tris-EDTA-Tween 20 treatment at 35 degrees C, The extracted DNA was added to Ready-To-Go PCR beads and spec ific DNA primers for B, cepacia, The B. cepacia DNA primers coded for a 209 -base pair (bp) fragment of the 16S rRNA ribosomal gene, No DNA amplificati on was observed in samples that were not spiked with B. cepacia. However, a ll contaminated samples showed the specific 209-bp fragment for B. cepacia, There was a 100% correlation between standard methods and the PCR assay. S tandard microbiological methods required 5-6 days for isolation and identif ication of spiked microorganisms, whereas PCR detection and identification was completed in 27 h, PCR detection of B, cepacia allows for rapid quality evaluation of cosmetic and pharmaceutical raw materials and finished produ cts.