Sterility Test Medium (Thioglycollate Broth)

EMD Cat. No. 1.08190.0500/5000
500 g, 5 kg


For cultivation and isolation of obligate and facultative anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria and for sterility tests.

Both culture media comply with the recommendations of United States Pharmacopeia XXIII (1995), the European Pharmacopeia and APHA (1992).

Additives


Experimental Procedure and Evaluation Quality Control
Typical Composition (g/liter) Literature


Mode of Action
 The reducing agents thioglycollate and cystine ensure an anaerobiosis which is adequate even for fastidious anaerobes. The sulfhydrol groups of these substances also inactivate arsenic, mercury and other heavy metal compounds.
 The thioglycollate media are thus suitable for the examination of materials which contain heavy metals or heavy metal preservatives. The higher viscosity of the Fluid Thioglycollate Medium prevents rapid uptake of oxygen. Any increase in the oxyygen content is indicated by the redox indicator sodium resazurin which changes its color to red.
Preparation
 Suspend 29 g/liter, dispense into tubes, autoclave (15 min at 121 °C).
 pH: 7.1 ± 0.2 at 25 °C.
 The prepared medium is clear and yellowish.
 The culture medium should always be freshly prepared.
Experimental Procedure and Evaluation
 Inoculate the culture medium with the sample material taking care that the sample reaches the bottom of the tubes. In order to ensure anaerobiosis, the medium can then be overlayer with 1 cm of sterile liquid paraffin or agar solution.
 Incubation: several days at the optimal incubation temperature (35-37 °C).
Anaerobes grow in the lower part of the culture.
Quality control

Test strains
 Growth
Clostridium sporogenes ATCC 19404
 		good (anaerobic)
Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633
 		good
Candida albicans ATCC 10231
 		good
Candida albicans ATCC 2091
 		good
Bacteroides vulgatus ATCC 8482
 		good (anaerobic)
Staphylococcus aureu ATCC 6538-P
 		good


Typical Composition (g/liter)
 Peptone from casein 15.0; yeast extract 5.0; D(+)glucose 5.5; l_cystine 0.5; sodium chloride 2.5; sodium thioclycollate 0.5.
Literature

American Public Health Association: Compendium of methods for the microbiological examination of foods. - 3rd ed. (1992).
 European Pharmacopeia II, Chapter VIII. 3.
 United States Pharmacopeia XXIII, Chapter "Sterility Tests", 1995.