Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Lab report 3 - Prepared by Kong Siao Thung


LAB 3 : PREPARATION AND STERILIZATION OF CULTURE MEDIA
Name : Kong Siao Thung
Matrice No. : 111372

Introduction



                Culture media are available commercially as powders ; they require only the addition of water. Nutrient medium is a general purpose preparation for culturing microorganisms which are not nutritionally fastidious. The broth contains:

3.0 g/L “Lab-lemco” powder ( a beef extract)
2.0 g/L yeast extract
5.0 g/L peptone (a nitrogen source)
5.0 g/L sodium chloride
15.0 g/L agar powder

The agar has the same composition, except that it contains 15 g/L agar. The final pH of both media is 7.4.

                Autoclaving is a process that use moist heat and pressure so that all parts of the material to be sterilized reach 121oC for 15 minutes. An autoclave is, in essence, a large pressure cooker; a chamber which may be sealed off against surrounding air. Materials for sterilization are placed in the chamber, the door is sealed, and pressurized steam is forced into the chamber. The incoming steam displaces cooler air through an exhaust valve; this valve closes when the cell cooler air has been vented.
               
                Steam is continually forced into the chamber until the pressure  reaches 103 kPa above atmospheric pressure; at sea level, this pushes the temperature in the chamber to 121oC throughout. After sterilization, the steam pressure is slowly decreased to atmospheric pressure. The sterilized objects can then be removed.


Objective

To prepare sterile nutrient agar for culturing microorganisms


Discussions

a)       We have weighed appropriate amount of broth(with agar) powder into Scott bottle and dissolved it with distilled water. Then, we have mixed it well using a glass rod and boiled it.
b)      After the solution is boiled, we loosely recap the bottle and set aside for sterilization. The media needed to be sterilized at 121oC for 15 minutes.
c)       We used autoclave method to sterilize the media.
d)      An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C for around 15–20 minutes depending on the size of the load and the contents.
e)      Autoclaving is the process of sterilization by pressure, heat, and chemical agents to disinfect materials.
f))       After autoclaving, we removed the media and allowed the broth preparation to cool then tighten the cap of each bottle.
g)      Laminar flow provides clean air to the working area and provides the constant flow of air out of the working area to prevent room air from entering.
h)      The air flowing out from the hood suspends and removes contaminants introduced into the work area by personnel.
i))     Laminar flow has a high efficiency bacteria-retentive filter. Room air is taken into the unit and passed through a pre-filter to remove gross contaminants. The air is then compressed and channeled up behind and through the HEPA filter in a laminar flow fashion. The HEPA filter removes nearly all the bacteria from the air.


Conclusions

To prepare a sterilized culture media, the quantity of broth need to be précised and the aceptic technique which is the autoclaving is  the most effective way of sterilization.



 References

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