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Culture Media

Culture media or growth media is a liquid or gel support media provided with essential nutrients and growth parameters required for the growth of microorganisms.

  • Culture media are of different types depending on the nutrients they have and the type of microorganisms that grow on them.
  • Growth media are primarily of two types; one for cell culture where specific cell types are grown of specific plants and animals, and another for microbiological culture to support the growth of microorganisms on artificial surfaces.
  • For microbial culture, the most common culture media are agar plates or broth medium. Agar plates are made up of a growth medium containing agar that results in the formation of a gel-like support medium for growth.
  • The broth medium, in turn, is made without any agar, which gives it the consistency of a liquid support medium.
  • Both the agar plates and broth media can be either general media or selective media.
  • General media support the growth of multiple organisms, while selective media allow the selective growth of fastidious organisms that require specific nutrient and environmental requirements.
  • For microorganisms like viruses or parasites, a growth medium containing living cells are required.
  • All culture media have a list of common ingredients like a source of carbon, a source of protein or nitrogen, some salts, and water. 
  • In the case of culture media used for a specific purpose; however, additional ingredients like organic compounds or pH indicators might also be present.
  • The most common general culture media for the isolation of bacteria is the Nutrient Agar that supports the growth of a diverse group of bacteria.
  • Culture media are an important part of routine laboratory research as it allows the artificial culture of microorganisms under laboratory conditions and also helps in isolation and differentiation of different microorganisms.
  • The growth pattern and colony morphology of certain bacteria on certain growth media provide a basis for the identification of the bacteria.
  • Traditionally, this technique was one of the most important methods of identification of microorganisms. It is still employed in many laboratories throughout the world for diagnostic and educational purposes.

VRBA- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 13, 2023January 6, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Violet Red Bile Agar (VRBA)

Coliforms refer to all aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod-shaped bacteria that ferment lactose with gas and acid formation within 48 hours at 35°C. Procedures to detect, enumerate, and … Read more

Nutrient Agar- Principle, Composition, Preparation, Results, Uses

May 13, 2022January 6, 2022 by Anupama Sapkota
Nutrient Agar

What is Nutrient Agar? Nutrient Agar is a basic culture medium commonly used for the culture of non-fastidious microorganisms, and for quality control and checking purity prior to biochemical or … Read more

Selenite F Broth- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 8, 2022January 6, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Result Interpretation on Selenite F Broth

Selenite Broth was devised by Leifson, who demonstrated that selenite was inhibitory for coliforms and certain other microbial species, such as fecal streptococci, present in fecal specimens and, thus, was … Read more

Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

February 27, 2023January 6, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) Agar

Most bacteria have the ability to ferment carbohydrates, particularly sugars. Among them, each bacterium can ferment only some of the sugars, while it cannot ferment the others. Thus, the sugars, … Read more

Charcoal Selective Medium- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 8, 2022January 6, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Result Interpretation on Charcoal Selective Medium

In 1984, Bolton et al. stated charcoal might efficiently substitute blood in a culture medium for isolating Campylobacter spp. Endtz et al. later confirmed there is a higher isolation rate … Read more

Modified Thayer Martin Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 8, 2022January 6, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Modified Thayer Martin Agar

Thayer and Martin reported an improvement of the Chocolate Agar formulation that contained antimicrobics vancomycin, colistin and nystatin have been added to minimize overgrowth by contaminants, suppress the growth of … Read more

Starch Casein Agar (SCA)- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results

January 8, 2022January 5, 2022 by Anupama Sapkota
Starch casein agar

What is Starch casein agar (SCA)? Starch casein agar is a nutrient medium for the growth and cultivation of saccharolytic marine bacteria. Starch casein agar, as the name suggests, has … Read more

Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA)- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 13, 2023January 5, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Results on Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA)

Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) is used as a selective and differential medium for the isolation and identification of Staphylococcus aureus from clinical and non-clinical specimens. It is recommended for the detection and … Read more

Blood Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Uses and Hemolysis

May 4, 2022January 5, 2022 by Anupama Sapkota
Blood Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation and Uses

What is Blood Agar? Blood Agar is an enriched medium provided with multiple nutrients that generally comes as a basal media for the preparation of blood agar by supplementation with … Read more

Amies Transport Medium- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses

January 8, 2022January 5, 2022 by Sagar Aryal
Amies Transport Medium

Amies Transport Medium is an improved transport medium, containing charcoal to prolong the viability of pathogenic organisms. It is a semisolid media recommended for use in qualitative procedures for the … Read more

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