Patent ID: 8735091

Claim:
A method for inactivation and extraction of acid-fast bacteria in a test sample, the method comprising the following sequential steps: (a) acquiring a test sample from a solid or semi-solid culture medium containing acid-fast bacteria and suspending the test sample in a container containing ethanol and beads; (b) bead beating the container to break up clumps and/or disrupt the acid-fast bacteria cells in the container; and (c) subsequently inactivating the acid-fast bacteria cells contained in the test sample by incubating the suspension for at least about 5 minutes at room temperature; (d) centrifuging the container to pellet the acid-fast bacteria sample and removing supernatant; (e) resuspending the acid-fast bacteria pellet in formic acid; and (f) subsequently extracting cellular proteins from the inactivated cells by adding acetonitrile to the container, wherein the formic acid and acetonitrile extract and dissolve cellular proteins from the inactivated cells.