Microbiology Solid Media

Solid Media

• Liquid media are combined with agar and poured into Petri dishes to create a solid culture medium for microbes.
• Agar is a solidifying agent that melts at near boiling temperatures (95°C-100°C) but remains liquid until cooled to around 42°C.
• Sterilized agar is poured into sterile Petri dishes, which are typically plastic, and allowed to solidify.
• Agar plates are used to isolate and count bacterial colonies through various culture techniques.
• Widely used for isolating pure cultures.
• Agar is the common solidifying agent for solid and semisolid media.