Description
Amyl Dermatophyte Test Medium AM52 is a preferred selective medium used for the isolation and identification of pathogenic, dermatophytic fungi from skin, hair and, to a lesser extent, nail tissue. Production of alkaline metabolites by actively growing dermatophytes changes the pH of the phenol red containing medium which is reflected by a colour change around the colony from yellow to deep red. Since the majority of dermatophytic fungi produce this reaction1 the recognition of dermatophytic growth becomes a relatively simple task for inexperienced operatives. The addition of gentamicin and chloramphenicol (replacing chlortetracycline in the original formulation) inhibits the growth of most bacteria, while cycloheximide suppresses growth of saprophytic filamentous fungi and many yeasts. While some yeasts will grow on DTM and a few species of Candida albicans have the capacity to alter the colour of the medium in the same way as dermatophytes, they are easily recognized by their bacteria like colonial morphology.
