Culture media and composition
drsuryabrata@gmail.comThis is a list of some culture media and their composition.
| MEDIA | SUPPLEMENTS | TARGET ORGANISMS |
|---|---|---|
| ABC plates | Alpha-galactosidase | Salmonella sp. |
| Alkaline peptone water [pH – 8.6 ± 0.2] | NaCl, peptone | Enrichment of Vibrio spp. |
| Aztreonam Blood Agar | Aztreonam, blood agar base | Gram-positive, especially fastidious gram-positive organisms |
| BHI Broths | Calf brain and beef heart infusion solids, peptone | Used for a broad range of pathogens – Fastidious anaerobic organisms, Haemophilus influenza, pathogenic fungi and many other organisms (Streptococcus pneumonia, S aureus, L monocytogenes, Leishmania promastigotes and C difficile.) |
| Blood Agar | tryptic soy agar or Columbia agar base with 5% sheep blood. | Generic enrichment media. |
| Charcoal agar with Bordetella Selective Supplement (cephalexin) | ‘Lab-Lemco’ powder, Charcoal agar, Nicotinic acid, Starch & peptone. with cephalexin | Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis It can be used for H influenzae, if without cephalexin |
| Bordet-Gengue | meat peptone, Caseine peptone, potato infusion, sheep blood | Non-selective media |
| CAA | Cefalexin atreonam arabinose agar | Differentiates Enterococcus sp |
| Camp plates | Vancomycin, Polymixin, Trimethoprim | Campylobacter sp. |
| CAN ID | Vancomycin, Aztrenam, Glucosaminide, Phosphate | Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis |
| Cepacia plates | Gentamicin and Polymixin B | Burkholderia cepacia |
| Chocolate Agar | Haemolysed Blood | Haemophilus species, Neisseria species |
| Chocolate Bacitracin Agar | Bacitracin | Inhibits Gram-positive growth |
| CLED plates | Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient | Differentiation between coliforms |
| FAA plates | Fastidious anaerobe agar, Nalidixic acid | Anaerobes |
| HDA Agar | Cefoxitin & Cefpodoxime | ESBLs and MRSA |
| IST Agar | Iso sensitivity test agar | Sensitivity testing |
| Legionella | Vancomycin hydrochloride, colistin, amphotericin B | Legionella sp |
| Listeria plates | Aesculin, ferric ammonium citrate, lithium chloride | Listeria sp |
| MTS | Mannitol trihalose salt | Differentiate non-fermenters (s.epi) from other CNS |
| Mueller Hinton Agar | Beef, dehydrated infusion from casein hydrolysate, starch | Detection of growth requirements of Haemophilus sp |
| NAD Sensitivity Plates | Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide | Sensitivity testing of Haemophilus sp |
| Nagler Plate | Lechinase & egg yolk. | Clostridium perfringens |
| Nali Blood Agar | Nalidixic acid | fastidious organisms |
| Neomycin Blood Agar | Neomycin | Clostridium species |
| Nutrient Agar | Yeast extract, peptone, sodium chloride | Non-fastidious organisms, e.g. Staphylococcus sp |
| NYC | Robertson cooked meat broth | Neisseria species |
| Robertsons cooked meat broth | Cooked meat granules, brain heart infusion | Enrichment broth for most organisms, including anaerobic |
| SAB | Sabouraud Dextrose | Fungi (yeasts and moulds) |
| Selenite | Peptone, lactose, sodium biselenite | Salmonella sp |
| Sorbitol MacConkey Agar | Sorbitol, bile salts | E.coli O157 |
| TCBS | Thiosulfate Citrate Bile salts Sucrose | Vibrio sp |
| Tinsdale Agar | Tellurite | Corynebacterium diphtheriae |
| Uriselect plates | ß-Glucosidase, ß-galactosidase, Tryptophan deaminase | Chromogenic agar to aid identification of organisms |
| XLD | Xylose, Lactose, Sodium desoxycholate | Xylose non-fermentors |
| Yersinia Agar | Cefsulodin, Irgasan, Novobiocin | Yersinia sp |
