SY Culture Media

Medium: a nutrient blend used to support microbial growth. Culture Media: is a medium (liquid or solid) that contains nutrients to grow bacteria in vitro. There are three physical forms of media, broth, solid, and semisolid. Solid media are more versatile in their usage. Promote surface growth Used to isolate pure cultures Ideal for culture storage Helpful in the observation of biochemical reactions Used to make slants, deeps, and plates (named by medium)

Classification of Bacterial Culture Media Classificatio n based on Consistency Classification Based on Nutritional component Classificatio n Based on functional use

Classification based on Consistency

Liquid Media

Solid Media

Semisolid media

Biphasic Media

Classification based on Nutritional Component Simple Complex Synthetic

Classification Based on functional use Basal Media Enriched Media Selective Media Differential Media Transport Media Anaerobic media
Solid (agar): Are prepared by adding a solidifying agent (agar 1.5 -3%).Prepared mainly in Petri dishes, but also in tubes and slopes. After growth the bacterial colonies are visible. e.g. blood agar, chocolate agar, MacConkey agar - Semisolid agar (soft agar): Contains small amounts of agar (0.5-0.7%). Used to check for motility and also used as a transport media for fragile organisms. Can have semisolid agar in Petri dishes or in tubes. In tubes it is usually slanted to increase surface area. Liquid (Broth): Mostly used for biochemical tests (blood culture, Broth culture). Growth of bacteria is shown by turbidity in medium. e.g. Nutrient broth, Selenite F broth, alkaline peptone water. Simple (basal, ordinary): Culture Media: are media that contain the basic nutrients (growth factors) that support the growth of bacteria without special nutrients, and they are used as basis of enriched media. e.g. Nutrient broth, nutrient agar, peptone water. They are for the growth of non-fastidious organisms like E. coli. Enriched Culture Media: are media that are enriched with: Whole blood e.g. blood agar. Lysed blood (heated to 80C) e.g. Chocolate agar. Selective Media: it is a media, which contains substances that prevent or slow the growth of microorganisms other than the bacteria for which the media is prepared for. For example TSI (triple sugar iron agar) EMB (Eosin Methylene blue): enteric isolation media. Differential Media (indicators): Contains indicators, dyes, etc, to differentiate microorganisms. E.g. MacConkey agar, which contains neutral red (pH indicator) and is used to differentiate lactose fermenter and non-lactose fermenter. (E.g. E. coli and Salmonella).