Growth Media Type Nutrient Agar

This product is widely known as nutrient agar.

Primary Use

Nutrient agar is a general-purpose medium used for the cultivation of non-fastidious microorganisms.

Technical characteristics

The typical medium composition:

Fresh pH 7.4 ±0.2

Applications

Nutrient Agar is a general purpose, non-selective nutritious media which allows maximum recovery of delicate microorganisms without affecting their haemolytic reactions. Media can be used to subculture microorganisms for maintenance purposes or to check the purity of subcultures from isolation plates prior to biochemical or serological tests.

Nutrient Agar contains a concentration of 1.5% agar to permit the addition of up to 10% blood or other biological fluid (such as serum or egg yolk), as required for cultivation of fastidious microorganisms. 

Related reading:

• Monitoring the clean room
• Environmental monitoring: how to maintain a cleanroom
• Keep it clean: considerations for pharmaceutical cleanrooms

Appearance

The prepared media is pale straw to straw in colour with a slightly opaque appearance.