Gelatin is a protein which serves as a solidifying agent in the preparation of microbiological culture media but it is used primarily in the detection of proteolytic microorganisms. It is obtained by degrading animal material with acid.
In the preparation of culture media on the basis of gelatin it is added to give a concentration of approximately 120 g/liter. As gelatin melts at about 28 °C; these culture media can only be incubated at temperatures below 28 °C (e.g. 22 °C). Gelatin culture media should be sterilized under mild conditions (10 min at 115 °C) as gelatin is heat-sensitive.
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