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Agar Alternative
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
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deleted-58328
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:49 pm
- Occupation: Student: 8th grade
- Project Question: Antibiotic resistance
- Project Due Date: In a little over a month
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Agar Alternative
I tried making agar for my project using agar powder and water and it didn't work out. I am unable to buy already made plates so I'm wondering if there might be an alternative. Thanks!!
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sunmoonstars
- Expert
- Posts: 424
- Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:47 pm
- Occupation: Platform Manager - Biologics
- Project Question: n/a
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Agar Alternative
Hi Simone,
There are alternatives to using agar as a solifying agent in your bacterial cultures, but agar is by far the most common to use. I hope you will try again with the agar. Did it come with instructions on how to prepare the powder? If you need instructions or backgrund information, our Project Guide can help:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... Agar.shtml
If you do decide you need to use an alternate to agar, gelatin is a good choice, but you may spend more time optimizing the protocol to use gelatin. I would re-try the agar first.
Let me know if you have more trouble with that, we can go through your steps together to find the problem.
Tonya
There are alternatives to using agar as a solifying agent in your bacterial cultures, but agar is by far the most common to use. I hope you will try again with the agar. Did it come with instructions on how to prepare the powder? If you need instructions or backgrund information, our Project Guide can help:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... Agar.shtml
If you do decide you need to use an alternate to agar, gelatin is a good choice, but you may spend more time optimizing the protocol to use gelatin. I would re-try the agar first.
Let me know if you have more trouble with that, we can go through your steps together to find the problem.
Tonya
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donnahardy2
- Former Expert
- Posts: 2671
- Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm
Re: Agar Alternative
Hi Simone 7,
Tonya has given some good advice, and I agree that it is worthwhile to try this again. What happened when you made your agar plates? Agar melts when it is boiled above 95 degrees Centigrade and solidifies below 45 degrees Centigrade. Gelatin is an option, but it melts at about 35 degrees Centigrade, which limits the incubation temperature for your experiment. The most common problem in making agar is the it’s not heated long enough to melt it, however, please do tell us exactly what you did and why you think the agar didn’t work for you.
Donna Hardy
Tonya has given some good advice, and I agree that it is worthwhile to try this again. What happened when you made your agar plates? Agar melts when it is boiled above 95 degrees Centigrade and solidifies below 45 degrees Centigrade. Gelatin is an option, but it melts at about 35 degrees Centigrade, which limits the incubation temperature for your experiment. The most common problem in making agar is the it’s not heated long enough to melt it, however, please do tell us exactly what you did and why you think the agar didn’t work for you.
Donna Hardy