Improvement of the pour plate method by separate sterilization of agar and other medium components and reduction of the agar concentration
Although the pour plate method is widely employed in microbiological quality control, it has certain drawbacks, including having to melt the culture medium before seeding. In this study, the preparation of the culture medium was modified by using a lower concentration of agar (10 g/L), which was sep...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/384323 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/384323 https://dx.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.03161-22 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Agar Food -- Microbiology Drugs Cosmetics Microbiology Pour plate method TSA SDA VRBG Recovery Selectivity Separation of components Pour plate Aliments -- Microbiologia Medicaments Cosmètics Microbiologia Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Ciències de la terra i de la vida::Microbiologia |
| Resumo: | Although the pour plate method is widely employed in microbiological quality control, it has certain drawbacks, including having to melt the culture medium before seeding. In this study, the preparation of the culture medium was modified by using a lower concentration of agar (10 g/L), which was separated from the nutrients during sterilization. The new protocol was assessed in media frequently used in microbiological quality control of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products, with tryptic soy agar (TSA), Sabouraud 4% dextrose agar (SDA), and violet red bile glucose agar (VRBG). In comparison with the conventionally produced media, the modifications significantly improved the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in SDA, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Candida albicans in TSA and Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and ATCC 25922 and S. Typhimurium in VRBG. The modified VRBG was also more selective for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Regarding physicochemical properties, a significantly lower pH was observed in TSA and VRBG and lower strength values in TSA. Sterilizing agar separately from the other components of the medium and reducing the agar concentration to 10 g/L can improve microorganism growth and enhance the selectivity of differential media in the pour plate method. These modifications could facilitate the automation of this culture technique |
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