Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,

I am working on a science fair project to test whether microbes can dissolve certain plastics.
Right now, I have grown algae out of agar plates, but I am not sure how to transfer these algae into plastic in an effective way?
Also, what are the procedures to do that?

Thanks

Hi jamiescience,

I hope you are having a great day. Your project sounds very interesting thus far.

For transferring algal cultures, it is important to work in a sterile environment (ideally in a laminar flow hood to prevent the entry of other microbes) and use sterilized equipment. I found these papers/links that may help you: http://ina.tmsoc.org/CODENET/culturenotes.htm, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4972250/, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4JmKFA3SKQ. For specific protocols, you might use NCBI or other scholarly sources to find papers that are relevant to your project.

I hope this information is able to help you. Please feel free to reach out on this forum with anymore questions, if they come up, or if you need clarification. Good luck on your project.

--Brandi