Growth Media Type R2A agar

Other common names

R2A agar is also known as Reasoner’s 2A agar after one of the scientists who developed the formulation. 

Primary Use

R2A is a low nutrition medium used to assess the bacterial condition of drinking water and process water. Incubating at lower temperatures for longer periods has found the medium to be effective in recovering stressed or damaged organisms. 

Technical characteristics

The medium’s nutritionally reduced formulation consists of: 

Fresh pH 7.2 ±0.2

Applications

The main application for R2A agar is for the bacterial examination of drinking water. However, it has become a medium of choice for assessing microbial contamination in processed water within pharmaceutical manufacturing. The mediums low nutritive value is specifically suited for recovery of organisms stressed or damaged by sanitisation processes.