Fermentation Products: Synthetic Media

The Lybradyn Synthetic Culture Media (SCM) is a hydrophilic polymer developed as a substitute for agar in solid culture applications. The product is prepared and supplied in a dehydrated form ready for use by reconstitution with liquid nutrient solutions. The polymer is formulated to have properties that are compatible with conventional microbiological applications. The characteristics of SCM include:

1. Surface will not cut or tear with conventional microbiological applicators.
2. Hydrated polymer is optically transparent.
3. Neutral pH.
4. Polymer has a buffering capacity and resists pH changes when used between 3-9.
5. Not sensitive to degradation in extreme pH environments.
6. Rapidly absorbs liquid culture components.
7. The polymer is not known to be a source of nutrients.
8. Resists drying in experimental applications.
9. Non-melting even under autoclave conditions.
10. Enables preparation of a few or many plates as needed.
11. Multiple different media can be prepared simultaneously at small scale.

The polymer can be used in any application that agar would be considered. In addition to the properties listed above the SCM offers a number of other advantages over agar including lower material costs, convenience in solution handling and labor preparation time.

Agar is used for most microbiological applications because it is an inert solid media support that retains nutrients, is optically transparent, and under typical conditions is stable to temperature and pH. Agar does have limitations in that it is relatively expensive, requires elevated temperatures to initiate and maintain a liquid state, is sensitive to surface damage from inoculating devices and requires considerable labor to prepare. The Lybradyn synthetic culture support is designed to eliminate the limitations found with agar while maintaining the advantages. The material is supplied without nutrients which provide flexibility to prepare most media formulations by hydrating with sterile nutrient solutions. Alternatively, the dehydrated support can be preloaded with specific nutrient media which can be hydrated by adding sterile water.

The applications for Lybradyn's synthetic culture media support include most situations in which agar is used: including academic, industrial or government research laboratories, quality control applications in the food, pharmaceutical, or consumer products industries, and clinical diagnostic applications. The media support is a cost effective, time saving and a superior alternative to agar media support for microbiological use.