Table of contents :

• cell culture : the maintenance or growth of animal cells in vitro, or a culture of such cells
• tissue culture : the maintaining or growing of tissue, organ primordia, or the whole or part of an organ in vitro so as to preserve its architecture and/or function.

• nucleotide sequence-based screening
• enzyme activity-based screening
• substrate-induced gene expression screening (SIGEX) for the isolation of novel catabolic operons is based on the knowledge that catabolic-gene expression is generally induced by relevant substrates and, in many cases, controlled by regulatory elements situated proximate to catabolic genes. For SIGEX to be high throughput, an operon-trap gfp-expression vector available for shotgun cloning was constructed that allows for the selection of positive clones in liquid cultures by FACS. The utility of SIGEX was demonstrated by the cloning of aromatic hydrocarbon-induced genes from a groundwater metagenome library and subsequent genome-informatics analysis^ref.

• plasmolysis = the shrinkage of the cell when in a hypertonic solution : the term expecially refers to the separation between cell wall and plasma membrane
• plasmoptisis : the burst of the cell when in a hypotonic solution
• Simmel test : the burst of RBCs when tested in hypotonic solutions with decreasing [Na⁺Cl^-]. It occurs in thalassemias

• holotype : the type culture of a species or subspecies of microorganisms, either because it was so designated in the original description or because the original description was based on only one strain.

Culture medium : a substance used to support the growth of microorganisms or other cells. They can be classified according to ...

• chemical composition :
• minimal medium : only inorganic salts
• natural, organic, complex or undefined medium : organic and inorganic compounds in unknown concentrations
• synthetic or defined medium : organic and inorganic compounds in known concentrations

Look here for growth conditions :
• Winogradsky column : glass column with an anaerobic lower zone and an aerobic upper zone.
• low P_O2 may be obtained by using ...
• laboratory hoods with modified atmosphere, created by aspiration of air followed by insertion of N₂ and/or CO₂.
• reducent agents :
• vitamin K
• hemin
• sulphidryl-containing compounds (sodium thioglycollate)
• H₂ sources (boroiodine) and O₂ reduction catalyzers (Pd or Lindlar catalyzer on allumin granules, tetraiodine selenite)
P_O2 decrease may be followed up using methylene blue (white when reduced in anaerob environments, blue when oxidized in aerob environments). Resulting atmosphere must be : 80% N₂, 10% H₂, 10% CO₂.
• high P_CO2 may be obtained using
• HCO₃^-
• citrate
• physical state :
• liquid media
• nourishing broth media : a liquid culture medium for the cultivation of microorganisms; organisms can not be identified on colony shape nor separated by possible polluttants
• meat broth medium : broth + pepton + Na⁺Cl^- 0.5%.
• tryptic soy medium : a mixture of partially digested soybean protein and mineral salts
• bouillon : a broth or soup prepared from the flesh of animals; used in food preparations and as a bacteriological culture medium. In the latter use, it is generally called broth
• suspension culture : a culture in which cells multiply while suspended in a suitable medium
• carbohydrate broth : a broth medium that contains heart infusion or peptone, sodium chloride, and an indicator supplemented with a single carbohydrate, used to test the ability to ferment various sugars.
• fermentation medium : a basal medium containing no carbohydrate to which is added a single sugar to be tested for fermentability.
• purple broth base : a broth medium containing peptone, beef extract, sodium chloride, and bromcresol purple, used as a base to which is added a sugar supplement for use in fermentation studies.
• infusion medium : a medium containing infusion of fresh meat (commonly veal or beef infusion culture medium / meat infusion medium), peptone, and sodium chloride, used as a liquid medium (broth) or solidified with agar, used for the culture of fastidious bacteria and as a base for enriched media.
• meat extract medium : one prepared with an extract from meat.
• milk culture medium : fresh or dehydrated skim milk used as a culture medium
• nitrate broth : nutrient broth containing sodium nitrate, for testing for the bacterial reduction of nitrate to nitrite.
• nutrient culture medium : a bacterial culture medium containing beef extract and peptone, used as a liquid medium (nutrient broth) or solidified with agar (nutrient agar, plain agar) for the culture of nonfastidious organisms.
• soybean casein digest agar : an agar medium containing pancreatic casein digest, papaic soybean meal digest, and sodium chloride; used as a general purpose primary isolation medium and as a base for blood agar.
Signs of growth in a liquid medium :
• change in the turbidity of the sample
• subculture onto a (semi)solid medium
• production of gas (bubbles in an inverted Durham tube or analysis of head space gas above the liquid for changes)
• production of acid (colour changes in a pH sensitive indicator)
• formation of a pellicle at the air/liquid interface (for highly oxygen dependent species)
• discrete colonies suspended in the liquid (especially in viscous media like thioglycollate broth).
• semi-solid culture medium (formed by adding a gelling agent to a broth medium then boiled or autoclaved. When the medium cools to about 40÷50°C, the agent forms a firm gel that molds into the shape of its container (usually a Petri dish : flat and round) and do not melt again unless it is heated to 100°C. The most commonly used gelling agent in synthetic media is SiO₄, while in organic media it is 0.3-2% of agar, a polysaccharide (30% agaropectin + 70% agarose (nonsulfated linear polymer consisting of alternating residues of D-Gal and 3,6-anhydro-L-Gal)) from seaweed. Very few Bacteria can digest agar, so an agar gel will remain stable even in the presence of bacterial growth. On the contrary of liquid media, (semi)solid ones allow to identify an organism by colony shape and to produce a pure culture from isolated colonies.
• plate culture : one grown on a medium, usually agar or gelatin, on a Petri dish.
• plating : the act of preparing a bacterial culture on a plate of solid medium in a Petri dish; the preparation of a plate culture
• counting plate : in bacteriology, a plate marked off in square centimeters. A Petri dish culture of microorganisms is placed on the plate and colonies per square centimeter are counted. The number of colonies per plate is calculated by multiplying the average count per square centimeter by the area of the Petri dish.
• Petri plate : a Petri dish containing a nutrient medium ready for inoculation with the microorganism to be cultured.
• pour plate : a bacterial culture poured into a Petri dish from a test tube in which the medium has been inoculated
• agar culture medium : one in which agar is used as the solidifying agent.
• shake culture : a culture made by inoculating warm liquid agar culture medium in a tube and shaking to distribute contents evenly. Incubation of the resolidified culture allows the development of separated colonies; especially applicable to obligate anaerobes.
• slant or slope culture : one made on a slanting surface of a solidified medium in a tube, the tube being tilted to provide a greater surface area for growth.
• needle or stab culture : one in which a tube of solid medium is inoculated by a needle thrust deep into the contents.
• streak culture : a culture in which the surface of a solid medium is inoculated by drawing across it, in a zigzag fashion, a wire inoculating loop carrying the inoculum.
• streak plate : a plate of solid culture medium in which the infectious material is inoculated in streaks across the surface.
• cough plate : a plate of culture medium on which a patient with a respiratory infection, especially pertussis, coughs
• lawn plate : a plate of solid culture medium inoculated by swab or with a liquid inoculum so as to produce a uniform confluent growth of microorganisms, used for assay of bacteriophage.
• function :
• selective media : a liquid or solid culture medium that contains inhibitory substances (antibiotics, dyes, tellurite, bile salts, etc.) that allow the growth of the desired microorganism while inhibiting the growth of contaminants when culturing a polymicrobic sample (selective culture)
• properly said selective media (solid phase). E.g. :
• Chapman medium
• MacConkey medium or Salmonella-Shigella (SS)-agar medium for Salmonella typhi
• enriched culture medium or broth (liquid phase) : a basic medium, usually liquid, to which specific nutrients, e.g., serum, blood, and vitamins, have been added to promote the growth of particular organisms (enrichment culture). It increase relative concentration of a selected germ by creating ideal growth conditions (T, pH, P_O2, P_CO2, energy substrate(s),....). E.g. selenite F for Salmonella typhi.
• differential or discriminating media : a culture medium, usually solid, that reveals the presence of 2 or more similar microorganisms by differences in the appearance of their colonies. It may consists of ...
• a selective medium plus a pH indicator dye :
• neutral red (pI = 7)
• methyl red
• phenol red
• acid fuchsin
• bromcresol purple
• bromthymol blue
E.g. :
• Chapman medium
• MacConkey medium
• a nonselective medium, e.g. agar blood

Some examples of culture media :
• viral culture media
• Vero cells : monkey kidney cells
plaque-forming unit (PFU) : an estimate of the titer of a bacteriophage solution, determined by mixing the bacteriophage with a solution of susceptible bacteria, plating, incubating, and counting the number of plaques present on the bacterial lawn, with each plaque representing a viable bacteriophage
• bacterial cell culture media
• test tube : a tube of thin glass closed at one end, used for various procedures in chemistry and for the growth of bacterial or viral cultures.
• Roida's tube : a tube designed for the separation of motile from nonmotile bacteria; the motile organisms make their way through sand, glass-wool, and other obstructions.
• Craigie's tube : a tube apparatus used for separating motile from nonmotile bacteria; it consists of a length of glass tubing with slanted bottom inserted into a larger tube of semisolid culture medium with the top of the smaller tube protruding above the medium. The medium is inoculated by stab inside the smaller tube. Organisms isolated from the medium outside the tubing are motile; nonmotile types remain inside.
• fermentation tube : a U-shaped tube with one arm closed for determining gas production by bacteria.
• germ tube : the short tube formed by a germinating hypha, conidium, or yeast cell.
• Veillon tube : a piece of glass tubing with a rubber cork at one end and a plug of cotton at the other, used in bacterial culture work.
• Durham's tube : a small inverted test tube used in determining bacterial gas production.
• sputum tube : a graduated capillary tube for containing sputum to be rotated in the centrifuge.
• albumin and oleic acid : for isolation of Mycobacterium spp.. On the contrary of other FFAs (which are toxic for Mycobacteria and so need albumin buffering), low doses of oleic acid represent a growth factor.
• ABAP : CDC anaerobic blood agar is an enriched non-selective medium containing sheep's blood. It is used as a primary plating medium to culture and maintain all types of anaerobes. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C for a period of 48 hours without oxygen. Prevotella melaninogenica pigment and hemolysis around Clostridium perfringes are seen with ABAP due to the vitamin K₁, hemin, and Cys that are included in the medium.
• transport medium : a medium used for transport of clinical specimens for bacteriological examination
• Amies transport medium : an agar medium containing sodium thioglycolate, sodium and potassium chloride, phosphate buffer, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and neutral charcoal, used for transport of specimens for anaerobic culture.
• buffered glycerol-saline base (Sachs) : a broth medium containing sodium chloride, phosphate buffer, phenol red, and glycerol, used to transport and preserve fecal specimen material
• prereduced and anaerobically sterilized (PRAS) medium : used for the culture of anaerobes.
• Cary-Blair transport medium : an agar medium containing thioglycolate, phosphate, and sodium chloride, used for the collection and holding of clinical specimens containing gram-negative facultative organisms. The medium may be supplemented with calcium chloride, sodium bisulfite, and resazurin for culture of anaerobes.
• peptone–yeast extract–glucose (PYG) medium : a liquid medium containing peptone, yeast extract, glucose, resazurin, L-cysteine, and salts, used as a transport medium for anaerobes. It may be supplemented with hemin and vitamin K₁, and used to prepare broth cultures of anaerobes for gas-liquid chromatography.
• Aronson medium is used for selective isolation of Vibrio cholerae
• Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) is used for culturing Borrelia burgdorferi: it contains > 13 ingredients in a rabbit serum base.
• Bennett agar : an agar medium containing casein digest, yeast extract, beef extract, and glucose, used as an isolation medium for Nocardia spp. and Streptomyces spp.
• bile esculin agar (BEA) : an agar medium containing beef extract, peptone, oxgall, ferric citrate, and esculin, sometimes supplemented with horse serum, used for the differential isolation and presumptive  identification of group D streptococci by black color around colonies. Hydrolysis of esculin to esculetin and dextrose. Esculetin reacts with ferric citrate to form a brown or black color; sodium deoxycholate inhibits many bacteria
• bismuth sulfite (BS) agar / Wilson-Blair culture medium : an agar culture medium containing beef extract, peptone, glucose, sodium sulfite, bismuth ammonium citrate, and brilliant green, used to isolate Salmonella spp., especially Salmonella typhi, from stool and other clinical specimens. Gram-positive organisms and other Enterobacteriaceae inhibited by the bismuth sulfite and brilliant green. Ferrous sulfate allows for the detection of H₂S production. Salmonella colonies are black or green and may be surrounded by a black or dark brown zone with a green metallic sheen.
• blood agar (BA) plates (BAP) : an enriched non-selective trypticase soy agar medium containing beef heart infusion base, peptone, and sodium chloride, autoclaved and enriched by the addition of 5% sterile defibrinated blood, used for primary plating and subculturing, especially to determine bacterial hemolysis. The blood used may be sheep (for group A Streptococcus spp.), rabbit (for Haemophilus parahaemolyticus), or horse. It is used as a primary plating medium to culture and maintain most aerobes and facultative anaerobes. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C for an incubation period of 24 hours in a CO₂ incubator.
• BAP with optocin P disk : blood agar plates with a P disk that contains the antibiotic optocin are used to differentiate Streptococcus pneumoniae(which is sensitive to optocin) from other Streptococcus spp.. When S. pneumoniae is grown on this plate, there will be a zone of no growth around the paper disk.
• BAP with a A disk that contains the antibiotic bacitracin are used to differentiate group A b-hemolytic Streptococci (which are sensitive to bacitracin) from other Streptococcus spp.. When group A b-hemolytic Streptococci are grown on this plate, there will be a zone of no growth around the paper disk.
• Bordet-Gengou (B-G) agar medium / potato blood agar : an agar base containing potato infusion, glycerol, and sodium chloride, enriched with 15-25% defibrinated sheep blood. Contaminants inhibited by methicillin (2.5 mg / mL). For the isolation of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis.
• brain-heart infusion (BHI) agar (BHIA) medium or broth (BHIB) : an agar medium containing calf brain and beef heart infusion, peptone, glucose, and phosphate buffer; sheep blood may also be added. It is used for the cultivation of bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi. A broth medium without the agar is used for cultivating Streptococcus pneumoniae for the bile solubility test.
• brilliant green (BG) agar (BGA) : a highly selective primary isolation medium containing yeast extract, peptone, lactose, sucrose, sodium chloride, phenol red, and brilliant green in an agar base, used for the culture of salmonellae other than Salmonella typhi.
• Brucella agar : an agar medium containing pancreatic digest of casein, peptic digest of animal tissue, yeast autolysate, and glucose, for the culture and isolation of Brucella melitensis. It may be supplemented by the addition of sheep blood and vitamin K₁ solution for the isolation of anaerobic bacteria.
• buffered charcoal yeast extract (BCYE) agar : yeast extract, charcoal and salts supplemented with L-cysteine, ferric pyrophosphate, ACES buffer, and a-ketoglutarate. Selective for Legionella spp..
• Butzler medium : thioglycollate, agar 3%, sheep blood 10%. For the selective cultivation of Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp.
• Campylobacter medium / Campy-blood agar : an agar medium containing pancreatic casein digest, peptic digest of animal tissues, yeast autolysate, glucose, sodium chloride, and sodium bisulfite (), supplemented with 5-10% sheep erythrocytes, vancomycin (10 mg / mL), trimethoprim (5 mg / mL), polymixin B (2.5 U / mL), amphotericin B (2 mg / mL), and cephalothin (15 mg / mL). It will inhibit the growth of normal flora enteric bacteria while supporting Campylobacter jejuni from specimens of fecal origin. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 42° C for an incubation period of at least 48 hours in microaerophilic conditions.
• casein agar : a medium containing dehydrated skim milk and agar, used for differentiation of Nocardia spp. and Streptomyces spp.
• CDC anaerobic blood agar : trypticase soy agar with 5% sheep blood enriched with hemin, L-cystine, and vitamin K₁. For the isolation of anaerobic and other organisms with enhanced growth of Peptostreptococcusspp..
• cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin (CIN) agar : peptone base with yeast extract, mannitol, and bile salts. Supplemented with cefsulodin, irgasan, and novobiocin; neutral red and crystal violet indicators. Fermentation of mannitol in the presence of neutral red results in a characteristic "bull's eye" colony, colorless with red center. Selective for Yersinia spp. and may be useful for isolation of Aeromonas spp..
• cetrimide agar : an agar medium containing peptone, magnesium chloride, potassium sulfate, cetrimonium hydrochloride (cetrimide), and sometimes glycerol, used for the differentiation of strains of Pseudomonas spp.
• Chanok medium : peptone + horse or rabbit serum + yeast extract + penicillin + tallium acetate. Selective for isolation of Mycoplasma spp.
• Chapman medium or mannitol-salt agar : peptone + Na⁺Cl^- 7.5% (inhibits non-alophilic Bacteria but not alophilic ones like Staphylococcus spp.) + mannitol + phenol red. Anyway protein A synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus is inhibited. S. aureus causes pH fall and toning of phenol red to yellow, Staphylococcus epidermidis doesn't cause pH fall. 10% rabbit plasma can be added to the medium for the detection of coagulase production. S.aureus colonies will form a zone of precipitated fibrin around the colonies.
• charcoal agar : a beef heart infusion–peptone culture medium containing soluble starch, yeast extract, and charcoal. The base medium is supplemented with sheep blood and cephalexin for the selective culture of Bordetella pertussis.
• charcoal-yeast extract (CYE) agar : an agar medium containing activated charcoal, L-cysteine, ferric pyrophosphate, and yeast extract, used for the culture of Legionella spp..
• charcoal-yeast extract diphasic blood culture medium : a diphasic medium consisting of a lower solid slant containing charcoal and agar, partially covered with a liquid broth containing yeast extract, L-cysteine, and ferric nitrate. It is used for the culture of Legionella spp..
• chocolate agar : an agar medium containing casein digest, peptone, cornstarch, sodium chloride, and phosphate buffer; 2% sterile hemoglobin or 10% horse's or sheep's fresh blood is added and the medium heated until the color is chocolate brown. Other agar media may also be used as the base. The medium is brown in color instead of red because the blood is added while the medium is heated at 80°C for 10' which causes the blood cells to lyse. This medium will support the growth of very fastidious organisms like Neisseria spp. and Hemophilus influenzae. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C for an incubation period of 24 hours in a CO₂ incubator.
• chopped meat (CM) broth : a liquid medium containing chopped meat treated with sodium hydroxide, casein digest, yeast extract, phosphate buffer, and cysteine; it may also include hemin, vitamin K₁, glucose, and resazurin. It is used for the cultivation of anaerobic bacteria, especially Clostridium spp..
• Christensen's urea agar / urea agar of Christensen : an agar medium containing peptone or gelatin digest, sodium chloride, glucose, phenol red, urea, and phosphate buffer, used to detect urease production, especially in enteric bacteria such as species of Proteus spp., Cryptococcus spp., and aerobic actinomycetes
• Columbia colistin-nalidixic acid (CNA) agar : Columbia agar base (peptone, cornstarch, sodium chloride) with 10 mg/ml colistin, 10 mg/ml nalidixic acid and 5% sheep blood. It is a selective and differential sheep's blood medium that supports the growth of gram-positive cocci, especially Proteus spp.. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in a CO₂ incubator. This medium inhibits the growth of gram negative organisms
• cooked meat (chopped meat) : solid meat particles serve as nutrient source and source of reducing substances (glutathione and sulfhydryl groups) which lower the oxidation-reduction potential. May also be enriched with glucose, yeast extract, hemin, and vitamin K₁. For the cultivation of strict anaerobes
• cycloserine cefoxitin fructose egg yolk agar : an agar medium containing peptone, sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, fructose, neutral red, and phosphate buffer, supplemented with cycloserine, cefoxitin, and egg yolk, used as a selective medium for Clostridium difficile.
• cystine-heart agar : an agar medium containing beef heart infusion, peptone, glucose, sodium chloride, and L-cystine. The medium is supplemented with hemoglobin for the in vitro conversion of dimorphic hyaline molds.
• cystine-lactose-electrolyte-deficient (CLED) agar : peptone base agar with Lac and L-cystine; restriction of electrolytes inhibits swarming by Proteus spp., lactose with bromthymol blue indicator is differential for coliform Bacteria. For the differential isolation of bacteria in urine. Coliforms produce yellow colonies, Proteus spp. produces translucent blue colonies.
• cystine-tellurite blood agar : infusion agar base (meat infusion, potassium tellurite, cystine, and agar) with 5% sheep blood. Reduction of potassium tellurite by Corynebacterium diphtheriae produces black colonies.
• cystine trypticase agar : an agar medium containing cystine, pancreatic digest of casein, sodium chloride, sodium sulfite, and phenol red, an aerobic differential medium for the general culture of pathogenic bacteria, including fastidious organisms. It may be supplemented with specific sugars and used to test fermentation reactions in Neisseria spp..
• Czapek-Dox agar or solution / Czapek solution agar : an agar medium containing sucrose, sodium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, ferrous sulfate, and potassium buffer, used for the culture of Nocardia spp., Streptomyces spp., and fungi
• decarboxylase broth : a liquid culture medium containing beef extract, peptone, and glucose, to which is added an amino acid (commonly lysine, arginine, or ornithine), for the determination of the amino acid decarboxylase activity as a differential character of bacteria, especially Enterobacteriaceae.
• deoxycholate-citrate-agar (DCA) medium / deoxycholate citrate (Leifson) (LDC) agar : an agar medium containing meat infusion, peptone, lactose, sodium and ferric citrates, sodium deoxycholate, and neutral red, used for the primary culture and isolation of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp.
• Leifson deoxycholate (LD) agar : an agar medium containing peptone, lactose, sodium citrate, ferric citrate, sodium chloride, sodium deoxycholate, neutral red, and potassium buffer, used for the isolation of Enterobacteriaceae and differentiation of lactose-fermenting and non–lactose-fermenting species.
• DNase test agar : an agar medium containing deoxyribonucleic acid, peptone, sodium chloride, and toluidine blue, used for differentiating strains of Serratia spp., Enterobacter spp., and Staphylococcus spp..
• egg-yolk agar : an agar medium containing peptone, phosphate buffer, sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, glucose, and egg-yolk emulsion, used for the culture of Bacillus anthracis. When supplemented with hemin or yeast extract it may be used for the culture of Clostridium spp. and for the demonstration of lecithinase and lipase activity.
• Ellinghausen-McCullogh medium
• Endo medium : agar + fuchsine sulfur
• eosin-methylene blue (EMB)-agar : an agar medium containing peptone, lactose, eosin Y, methylene blue, and dipotassium phosphate; sucrose may be added. It is used for the primary isolation of species of Enterobacteriaceae. Eosin Y and methylene blue serve as pH indicators of fermentation as well as inhibiting some gram positive organisms. For the isolation and differentiation of Lac-fermenting (coliforms) and Suc-fermenting (Proteus spp.) enteric bacteria. Coliform Bacteria and Proteus spp. form blue-black colonies whereas colonies of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. appear colorless, transparent, or amber.
• esculin culture medium : an agar medium containing heart infusion, peptone, sodium chloride, ferric citrate, and esculin, used to differentiate Escherichia spp. from Shigella spp..
• Feeley-Gorman (F-G) agar : an agar medium containing casein hydrolysate, beef extract, starch, L-cysteine, and ferric pyrophosphate, used for the culture of Legionella spp.. A broth culture without the agar is also used for the same purpose.
• Fildes enrichment agar : a sterile enzymatic digest of sheep blood added to liquid or solid culture media for the cultivation and isolation of Haemophilus influenzae and fastidious streptococci.
• Fletcher medium : a liquid culture medium containing peptone, and beef extract enriched with 20% fresh pooled rabbit serum, for the isolation, cultivation, and maintenance of Leptospira spp..
• gelatin culture medium : a medium containing extract or infusion broth solidified with 12% gelatin, used to determine gelatinase activity in the identification of Serratia spp. and Clostridium. The medium may be supplemented with thioglycolate for cultivation of Clostridium spp. in an aerobic environment.
• Gram-negative (GN) broth : peptone base broth with glucose, D-mannitol, sodium chloride, and phosphate buffer. Sodium citrate and sodium deoxycholate act as inhibitory agents. Mannitol is provided in a higher concentration than dextrose to enhance the growth of mannitol-fermenting species, such as Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp., and limit the growth of Proteus spp. and other dextrose-fermenting bacteria. For the selective enrichment of enteric pathogens for the primary culture in fecal specimens.
• Gram-negative selenite broth (GN\SEL Broth) : a selective enriched clear tan broth which supports gram negative organisms including aerobic and anaerobic spore forming bacilli. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37°C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air. The growth of gram positive organisms are inhibited.
• Grove-Randall (GR) nr. 9
• heart infusion agar : an agar medium containing beef heart infusion, peptone, and sodium chloride, used as a base for blood agar and esculin agar.
• Hektoen enteric (HE) agar (HEA) medium : peptone base agar with bile salts, yeast extract, Lac, Suc, salicin, sodium chloride, sodium thiosulfate, ferric ammonium citrate. Bromthymol blueand acid fuchsin serve as indicators of fermentation; sodium thiosulfate and ferric ammonium citrate enables the detection of H₂S producers. Orange, salmon, or yellow colonies are fermentors (Escherichia coli,coliform Bacteria, Proteus spp., and fecal Streptococcus spp.) and green to bluish green with or without black centers (H₂S) are non-fermentors (Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp.). Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air
• Johnson-Harris medium
• kanamycin-vancomycin blood agar : an agar medium containing casein digest, soybean meal digest, sodium chloride, yeast extract, sheep blood, L-cystine, vitamin K₁, kanamycin, and vancomycin, used for selective isolation of anaerobes, particularly Bacteroides spp..
• kanamycin-vancomycin laked blood (KVLB) agar : an agar medium having the same ingredients as kanamycin-vancomycin blood agar except that the blood is laked (hemolyzed) by freezing and thawing. It is used to isolate the Prevotella melaninogenica group.
• Kelly medium
• A medium
• Korthof mediun
• laked lood (LB) agar : a solid culture medium containing blood that has been hemolyzed to release hemin
• litmusmilk culture medium : milk culture medium containing sufficient litmus solution to give it a deep lavender color, used to determine lactose fermentation and production of gas in the identification of Clostridium perfringens.
Löffler or Loeffler coagulated serum medium : a culture medium containing veal infusion, beef serum, and glucose, solidified by coagulation of the horse serum, used for the isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
• Löwenstein medium : for selective isolation of Mycobacterium spp.and Actinomyces spp..
• Löwenstein-Jensen culture medium : a solid medium containing asparagine, potato flour, glycerol, magnesium sulfate, malachite green (for inhibition of contaminants), 4% NaOH and N-acetyl-Cys, magnesium citrate, and whole eggs, used for the primary selective isolation of Mycobacterium spp.; the medium is solidified by heat coagulation of the egg
• Gruft medium : " + penicillin
• lysine (Lys)-iron agar (LIA) : an agar medium containing peptone, yeast extract, glucose, L-lysine, ferric ammonium citrate, sodium thiosulfate, and bromcresol purple, used to determine lysine decarboxylase and lysine deaminase in the Enterobacteriaceae, especially for the genera Proteus spp. and Providencia spp.. A purple colored medium in a slant tube that is used to detect Glc fermentation, Lys decarboxylation, Lys deamination and H₂S production. Glucose fermentation is indicated by a change to yellow in the lower half of the tube (K/A or R/A). Lys decarboxylation is indicated by a completely purple tube (K/K). Lys deamination is indicated by a red color in the top half of the tube (R/K or R/A). H₂S production is indicated by a black precipitate in the middle of the tube. Some fermentation will also produce gas that gives bubbles or cracks in the agar. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• MacConkey (MC) agar medium (MAC) : sodium taurocholate (inhibit Gram +ve Bacteria => moderately selective medium) + peptone + Lac + neutral red (pH dye), sodium chloride. Crystal violet and bile salts inhibit gram-positives and non-enteric organisms. Coliform Bacteria cause pH fall (lactose fermenters) and neutral red dye toning from mild red to dark pink. Proteus spp., Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. don't cause pH fall (non–lactose fermenters) and so form salmon or colorless colonies. Optimal incubation of this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• MAC + sorbitol is used to identify Escherichia coli O157:H7. The sorbitol inhibits the growth of other E. coli strains and inhibits the O157:H7 strain's ability to ferment Lac so the colonies retain a clearer appearance and do not give a color to the agar. Optimal incubation of this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• mannitol salt agar : an agar medium containing beef extract, peptone, mannitol, phenol red, and 7.5% sodium chloride, used for the selective isolation of pathogenic staphylococci.
• Martin-Lester or Martin-Lewis agar : a modification of chocolate agar containing antibiotics, used for the transport and primary isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis.
• McBride Listeria medium : an agar medium containing peptone, beef extract, sodium chloride, glycine anhydride, lithium chloride, and phenylethanol, used for the cultivation of Listeria spp.
• McLeod medium : Levinthal medium + K₂TeO₃
• methylene blue milk culture medium : a liquid medium containing skim milk powder and methylene blue, used in the identification of Streptococcus spp..
• methyl red–Voges-Proskauer (MR-VP) broth : a broth culture medium containing peptone, glucose, and phosphate, used for the culture of coliform bacteria and differentiation by the methyl red and Voges-Proskauer tests.
• Middlebrook 7H10 agar medium : a complex agar medium containing ammonium sulfate, D-glutamic acid, sodium citrate, ferric ammonium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, pyridoxine, biotin, malachite green, and phosphate buffer. OADC enrichment, containing oleic acid, albumin, glucose, and beef catalase, is added. The medium is used for the primary selective isolation of Mycobacterium spp. and for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
• Middlebrook's 7H11 medium for selective isolation of Mycobacterium spp..
• Mitchison medium
• mobility, indole and urea / ornithine (MIU / MIO) test medium : a culture medium containing beef extract and peptone, partially solidified by the inclusion of 0.4% agar, used for the detection of motility of Enterobacteriaceae. A medium containing pancreatic casein digest, yeast extract, sodium chloride, and 0.3% agar is used to determine motility in nonfermenting gram-negative bacteria. Urease⁺ strains cause pH lowering and so toning  of a pH dye from yellow to red. A positive test for motility will be indicated by growth diffusing from the stab or clouding of the medium, a negative result for motility is indicated by growth along the inoculation line. A purple medium indicates a positive result for ornithine, a negative test will result in a purple color at the top of the medium and yellow throughout the rest of the medium. A positive result for indole is indicated by a red/pink or purple color of Kovacs' reagent (dimethylaminobenzaldehyde) when it is added on top of the slant, and a negative result is indicated by yellow reagent. Optimal incubation of this medium is at a temperature of 35° C and for an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• Mueller-Hinton (MH) agar medium : an agar medium containing beef infusion, peptone, and starch which supports the growth of most pathogens, used for the primary isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis, and for antibiotic and sulfonamide susceptibility testing. A broth medium (MHB), prepared by omitting the agar, is used to determine antibiotic susceptibility by broth dilution testing. Low levels of thymine and thymidine contribute to accurate measurement of sulfonamide and trimethoprim resistance; controlled levels of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ contribute to appropriate activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics.
• Mueller-Hinton-IH agar : an agar medium containing beef infusion, casein hydrolysate, starch, hemoglobin, and a complex enrichment supplement (Isovitalex), used for the culture of Legionella spp..
• FC-agar : MH + 0,04% L-Cys + 0,25% Fe(P₂O₅)
• Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate broth (MKTB) : peptone + bile salts + sodium thiosulfate. An enriching broth for Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp.
• Mycoplasma isolation culture medium : an agar medium containing beef heart infusion, peptone, sodium chloride, horse extract, yeast extract, and penicillin; thallium acetate and amphotericin B may also be added to reduce bacterial and fungal contamination. A broth culture is made by omitting the agar. It is used for the culture and isolation of mycoplasmas.
• New York City (NYC) medium : an agar medium containing protease peptone, cornstarch, phosphate buffer, horse plasma, hemoglobin, glucose, yeast dialysate, vancomycin, colistin, nystatin or amphotericin, and trimethoprim lactate, used as a selective medium for Neisseria spp..
• nourishing broth-agar-(sheep or horse) blood (5 %) : used in Brown classification (1914) of Streptococci
• a-hemolysis : the production of a zone of greenish discoloration under visible light surrounding a bacterial colony on blood-agar medium, caused by incomplete hemolysis of reduced hemoglobin; it is characteristic of Streptococcus pneumoniae and certain viridantes streptococci.
• b-hemolysis : the production of a clear zone immediately surrounding a bacterial colony on blood-agar medium due to complete hemolysis, which is characteristic of certain pathogenic bacteria
• g-hemolysis : a term used to indicate absence of hemolysis around a bacterial colony on blood agar, which indicates that the bacteria is nonhemolytic.
• oxidation-fermentation (OF) medium : an agar medium containing peptone, sodium chloride, bromthymol blue, potassium buffers, and glucose; lactose, mannitol, or sucrose may be used instead of glucose. The medium is used to distinguish oxidative from fermentative utilization of carbohydrates, a characteristic used to differentiate Acinetobacter spp., Alcaligenes spp., and Pseudomonas spp. from the Enterobacteriaceae.
• PDM antibiotic sensitivity medium
• Petragnani culture medium : a agar culture medium containing bovine milk, potato flour, potato, whole egg and egg yolk, and malachite green, for the culture of tubercle bacilli; the medium is solidified by heat coagulation of the egg.
• phenol red medium : a liquid medium containing peptone, sodium chloride, and phenol red, used as a base medium supplemented with various sugars for determining fermentation reactions.
• phenylalanine agar : an agar medium containing yeast extract, DL-phenylalanine, disodium phosphate, and sodium chloride, used to test for phenylalanine deaminase activity by members of the Enterobacteriaceae, especially species of Proteus spp. and Providencia spp..
• phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) blood agar : an agar medium containing pancreatic digest of casein, papain digest of soybean meal, sodium chloride, and phenylethyl alcohol. Defibrinated blood may be added. It is used for the isolation of gram-positive cocci, especially in a mixed culture containing Proteus spp. or other gram-negative bacilli. Phenylethanol inhibits the growth of gram-negative organisms by inhibiting DNA synthesis
• polymixin-anisomycin-vancomycin (PAV) medium
• polymixin-anisomicin-cephamandol (PAC) medium
• Rappaport-Vassiliadis (RV) MgCl₂ malachite green broth : an enriching broth for Salmonella spp..
• Rogosa selective Lactobacillus (SL) agar : a selective culture medium containing tryptone, yeast extract, glucose, arabinose, sucrose, acetate, citrate, sorbitan monooleate, phosphate buffer, and agar, used in the culture and presumptive identification of lactobacilli.
• Salmonella-Shigella (SS)-agar medium : a selective differential culture medium containing beef extract, peptone, lactose, ferric citrate, thiosulfate (enable the detection of H₂S production), neutral red (as the indicator), and bile salts, brilliant green and sodium citrate (inhibit gram positive organisms), used for the primary isolation of enteric bacilli, especially Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. which appear as colorless, Salmonella may have black centers (H₂S); coliforms form red colonies.
• Salmonella-Shigella (SS) agar : a selective differential culture medium containing beef extract, peptone, lactose, bile salts, sodium and ferric citrates, thiosulfate neutral red, and brilliant green, used for the primary isolation of enteric bacilli, especially Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp..
• selenite F broth : a liquid medium containing peptone, lactose, phosphate, and sodium selenite, which is bacteriostatic for 16÷18 hrs for all coliform Bacteria, but not for Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp..
• selenite + novobiocin
• selenite cystine
• citrate agar (Simmons) / Simmons citrate agar : an agar medium containing sodium citrate, sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, bromthymol blue, and phosphate buffer, used to determine the ability of gram-negative bacilli, particularly the Enterobacteriaceae, to utilize citrate as the sole carbon source.
• Skirrow medium : peptone and soy protein base agar with 7% lysed horse blood. Vancomycin inhibits gram-positive organisms; polymixin B and trimethoprim inhibit most gram-negative organisms. For the selective cultivation of Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp.
• sodium chloride (6.5%) culture medium : a broth medium containing beef heart infusion, peptone, and 6.5% sodium chloride, used for the selective culture of enterococci (especially group D streptococci) and other salt-tolerant organisms. Nutrient broth or soybean-casein digest agar supplemented with 6.5% sodium chloride is also used for Pseudomonas spp. and other nonfermenting gram-negative bacteria.
• starch agar : an agar medium containing peptone, beef extract, sodium chloride, and soluble starch, used for determining hydrolysis of starch. Bromcresol purple may be included for identification of Gardnerella vaginalis.
• modified Stuart broth : a culture medium containing inorganic salts, asparagine, and glycerol, enriched with rabbit serum and used for the isolation and culture of Leptospira spp..
• streptococcal selective agar (SSA) contains crystal violet, colistin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 5% sheep blood agar base. A selective medium for the cultivation of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus agalactiae.
• tellurite taurocholate gelatin agar : a selective agar medium containing sodium taurocholate, potassium tellurite, and sodium carbonate, used for the isolation of Vibrio spp.. It is used to test for the reduction of tellurium by bacteria. Characteristic black colonies are produced when tellurium is precipitated an reduced. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 35° C and an incubation period of 48 hours in ambient air.
• tetrathionate broth : a liquid medium containing peptone, bile salts, calcium carbonate, and sodium thiosulfate, which is converted to tetrathionate by the addition of iodine immediately before use, which inhibits most gram-positives and Enterobacteriaceae. Selectively enriches for Salmonella spp. other than S. typhi and Shigella spp..
• Thayer-Martin (TM) agar medium : chocolate agar enriched with vitamins and other supplements, to which is added antibiotic inhibitors (vancomycin, colistin, and nystatin), used for the transport and primary culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis.
• modified Thayer-Martin (MTM) agar is a selective enriched medium that is used to isolate and maintain cultures of Neisseria spp.. Optimal incubation of this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in a carbon dioxide incubator.
• thioglycollate or thioglycolate (THIO) broth : pancreatic digest of casein, soy broth, and glucose enrich growth of most microorganisms and supports growth of anaerobes, aerobes, microaerophilic and fastidious organisms. Thioglycollate is a reducing agent which lowers P_O2 in the depths of the tube. A liquid medium containing peptone, glucose, sodium chloride, sodium thioglycolate, L-cystine, sodium sulfite, and 0.7% agar, enriched with rabbit serum. It is used as a general utility medium for the growth of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Methylene blue may be added as a redox indicator, and the medium may be enriched with yeast extract, vitamin K₁, and hemin
• thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar : a selective medium containing peptone, yeast extract, citrate, oxgall (bile salts), sodium cholate, sucrose, sodium chloride, sodium thiosulfate, ferric citrate (indicators of H₂S production) , bromthymol blue (indicator of Suc fermentation), and thymol blue. Medium is selective and differential for Suc-fermenting Vibrio spp. (Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus), that produce a distinctive yellow colony by toning bromthymol blue. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37° C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• Todd-Hewitt broth : a liquid medium containing beef heart infusion, peptone, glucose, sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and phosphate buffer, used for growing streptococci for serological grouping.
• Tindale's agar : a base composed of proteose-peptone, sodium chloride, and agar to which is added an enrichment of bovine serum, L-cystine, sodium thiosulfate, and potassium tellurite; used to detect Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which form grayish-black colonies surrounded by a black halo.
• triple sugar iron (TSI) agar medium / Kligler iron agar : an agar medium containing peptone, sucrose, lactose, glucose (Sac:Lac:Glc 10:10:1), ferrous ammonium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, sodium chloride, and phenol red, used for the preliminary screening of Enterobacteriaceae. Production of hydrogen sulfide causes the formation of black ferrous sulfide along the stab line, gas production causes bubbles in the agar, and fermentation of the sugars is indicated by the amount of acid produced. When Glc is exaurited (color change from red to yellow in the top half or slant of the tube indicates that Glc was fermented), Bacteria can use Sac & Lac (causing pH decrease => change from red to yellow in the bottom or butt of the tube) or alternatively amino acids (causing pH increase). Sac also acts a buffer for H₂S, so that only strong H₂S producers (e.g. Salmonella spp., but not Shigella spp.) are characterized by black FeS precipitates. Some fermentation will also produce gas that gives bubbles or cracks in the agar. Optimal incubation for this medium is at a temperature of 37°C and an incubation period of 24 hours in ambient air.
• trypticase soy broth with agar (TSA) : a medium containing a trypsin digest of soybean meal, peptone, sodium chloride, phosphate buffer, and glucose with 0.1% agar, used for the primary culture of fastidious bacteria, including anaerobes.
• urease test broth : the medium used in the urease test; a liquid medium containing yeast extract, urea, phenol red, and phosphate buffer, used to determine urease activity in the differentiation of Proteus spp. from Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. in enteric infections
• xylose-lysine-deoxycholate (XLD) agar : yeast extract agar with L-Lys, Xyl, Lac, Suc, sodium chloride, yeast extract, phenol red, sodium desoxycholate, sodium thiosulfate, and ferric ammonium citrate. Sodium deoxycholate inhibits gram-positive organisms; phenol red is the indicator of Lac, Suc, and Xyl fermentation. For the isolation and differentiation of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. from other gram-negative enterics. Coliform Bacteria and Proteus spp. ferment Lac or Suc and produce yellow colonies (Proteus have black centers). Salmonella and Shigella utilize Lys (alkaline reaction) to produce red colonies (Salmonellae may have black centers).
colony-forming unit (CFU) : in microbiology, estimation of the number of bacteria or yeasts by counting the colonies on a solid medium, with one bacterium being considered equal to one colony; some colonies develop from two or more organisms attached to or lying close to each other when inoculated
• protozoal cell culture media
• Novy-Mac Neal-Nicolle (NNN) medium : agar + defibrinated rabbit blood. For selective isolation of Leishmania spp.
• fungal cell culture media
• antibiotic culture medium 3 FDA : a broth medium containing peptone, yeast and beef extracts, sodium chloride, glucose, and potassium buffer, used for testing the activity of antibiotic agents against fungi.
• antibiotic culture medium 12 FDA / nystatin assay agar : an agar medium containing peptone, yeast and beef extracts, sodium chloride, and glucose, used for agar dilution susceptibility tests with antifungal antibiotics
• chlamydospore agar : an inorganic salt medium containing polysaccharide, biotin, and trypan blue, for the identification of Candida albicans by favoring the formation of chlamydospores which are stained blue by the dye.
• CHROMAgar Candida (source : CHROMAgar Company, Paris, France) comprises (per liter) peptone (10 g), glucose (20 g), agar (15 g), chloramphenicol (0.5 g), and "chromogenic mix" (2 g)^ref
• corn meal agar : an agar medium containing corn meal infusion, used to stimulate sporulation in the identification of fungi. With the addition of Tween 80 it stimulates the production of chlamydospores by species of Candida spp.. It may also be supplemented with glucose, sucrose, and yeast extract for the general culture of fungi.
• Littman agar : an agar medium containing peptone, oxgall, glucose, and crystal violet. Streptomycin may be added to inhibit bacteria, and the medium may be supplemented with birdseed extract. It is used for the isolation and culture of fungi.
• Nickerson's medium for Candida spp., which is essentially the same as the commercially available BiGGY agar, relies on the differential reduction of complex bismuth salts to give light- and dark-colored colonies. It comprises (g/l) yeast extract 1.0; peptone from soymeal 2.0; glycine 10.0; D(+)glucose 10.0; bismuth sulfite indicator 2.0; agar-agar 15.0. Incubation: 4 days at 28 °C aerobically and if necessary at 35 °C. Pagano-Levin et al. added triphenyl tetrazolium chloride as an indicator to Sabourad agar; on this medium, C.albicans isolates give pale-colored colonies, while other yeast species develop various shades of pink. Costa and Louis de Blanco devised a phosphomolybdate agar on which C.albicans colonies are green and those of other species are blue. The Pagano-Levin and phosphomolybdate agars are not currently available from commercial sources, and Pagano-Levin medium in practice yields a high rate of both false-positive and false-negative results when used to differentiate species. Bismuth-based media do not adequately differentiate yeast species from each other, or from bacteria, since most organisms form colonies with a brown to black color on this substrate
• malt extract agar : an agar medium containing malt extract, peptone, and glucose, used for the cultivation of yeasts and molds.
• oatmeal–tomato paste agar : an agar medium containing strained oatmeal and tomato paste, used for the formation of ascospores in dermatophyte fungi.
• potato dextrose agar (PDA) : a culture medium containing potato infusion and glucose (dextrose), for culturing and inducing sporulation in molds.
• rice grain medium : a medium containing water and polished white rice that is autoclaved; used for the differentiation of species of Microspora spp. and other dermatophytes.
• rice-Tween agar : an agar medium containing cream of rice and Tween-80 (polysorbate 80), used for the development of chlamydospores in Candida spp. and other fungi.
• Sabourad dextrose (SAB) agarmedium :  an agar medium containing glucose, peptone, pancreatic digest of casein, and peptic digest of animal tissue + maltose with a final pH of 5.6 which favors the growth of Fungi over Bacteria; antibiotics may be added (e.g. Sabourad-chloramphenicol (Mycosel)-agar medium). Used for the cultivation and identification of fungi.
• Sabouraud's dextrose and brain heart infusion (Sabhi) agar : an agar medium containing brain infusion, heart infusion, gelatin digest, glucose, sodium chloride, peptone, and phosphate buffer; chloramphenicol may be added. It is used for isolating clinically important fungi.
• Staib agar / birdseed agar : an agar medium containing an extract of Guizottia abyssinica seeds, creatinine, glucose, chloramphenicol, and diphenyl, used for the identification of the yeast Cryptococcus neoformans
• tyrosine xanthine agar : an agar medium containing nutrient agar and tyrosine or xanthine, used for differentiation of species of aerobic actinomycetes.
• yeast extract agar : an agar medium containing yeast extract and phosphate buffer, used for identification of Histoplasma capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Coccidioides immitis.
• metazoan or animal cell culture media
• hypoxanthine, aminopterin, and thymidine (HAT) medium : used in somatic cell fusion experiments; aminopterin is an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) that blocks the de novo synthesis of both purines and thymidine monophosphate. Cells can still synthetize these nucleotides via salvage pathways, i.e. purines from hypoxanthine via hypoxanthine/guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) and thymidine monophosphate from thymidine via thymidine kinase (TK). Hence cells with both HGPRT and TK can still grow on a medium which supplies both hypoxanthine and thymidine.
• animal derived component free (ADCF) media / serum-free media
• basal medium Eagle (BME) : +/-
• Earle's salts
• Hanks' salts
• L-glutamine
• sodium bicarbonate

inorganic salts	mg/L	mg/L
CaCl2 (anhydrous)	200.00	140.04
KCl	400.00	400.00
KH2PO4	-	60.00
MgSO4 (anhydrous)	97.67	97.70
NaCl	6800.00	8000.00
NaH2PO4•H2O	140.00	-
Na2HPO4 (anhydrous)	-	47.50
amino acids
L-Arginine•HCl	21.00	21.06
L-Cystine•2HCl	15.65	15.55
L-Glutamine	292.30	292.30
L-Histidine•HCl•H2O	15.00	10.50
L-Isoleucine	26.00	26.23
L-Leucine	26.00	26.23
L-Lysine•HCl	36.47	36.53
L-Methionine	7.50	7.46
L-Phenylalanine	16.50	16.51
L-Threonine	24.00	23.82
L-Tryptophan	4.00	4.08
L-Tyrosine•2Na•2H2O	25.95	26.11
L-Valine	23.50	23.43
vitamins
Biotin	1.00	1.00
D-Calcium pantothenate	1.00	1.00
Choline chloride	1.00	1.00
Folic acid	1.00	1.00
i-Inositol	2.00	2.00
Nicotinamide	1.00	1.00
Pyridoxine•HCl	1.00	1.00
Riboflavin	0.10	0.10
Thiamine•HCl	1.00	1.00
other
D-Glucose	1000.00	1000.00
Phenol red, Na	10.00	17.00
add
NaHCO3 Powder (g/L)  7.5% Solution (mL/L)	2.20 29.40	2.20  29.40
specifications
pH (before buffer)	5.7±0.5	6.5±0.5
pH (after buffer)	7.5±0.2	7.3±0.5
Osmolality (mOsm)	285±15	296±30
Grams of powder required to prepare 1L (1X Solution)	9.19	10.30

• Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) : a modification of BME, containing 4-fold concentrations of the amino acids and vitamins found in BME, as well as additional supplementary components. The original formulation of DMEM contained 1000 mg/L of glucose, but has since been raised in some modifications to 4500 mg/L, giving the terms “low glucose” and “high glucose”. Several other modifications over the years, in addition to the alternative glucose levels, have broadened the spectrum of cell types supported by DMEM
• Iscove's DMEM / Iscove modified Dulbecco's medium (IMDM) : LJ Guilbert and NN Iscove published their modifications to DMEM in 1976^ref. Their modifications included the supplements of selenium, additional vitamins and amino acids, sodium pyruvate and HEPES buffer. In addition, ferric nitrate was replaced with potassium nitrate. When further supplemented with albumin, lecithin, and transferrin, this medium supported the growth of precursor cells of macrophages and erythocytes without serum supplementation. Iscove’s Medium has since been shown to support murine B lymphocytes, hemopoietic tissue from bone marrow, B cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, T lymphocytes, and a variety of hybrid cells
• Ham's nutrient mixtures : Ham’s F-10 and F-12 nutrient mixtures were both originally developed to support the growth a variety of cells, particularly Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, with or without serum supplementation. Ham’s F-10 has since been used in the culture of a wide variety of cells of both animal and human origin. Ham’s F-12 is prefered by many in the culture of cells of rodent origin. It has also shown excellent results as a cloning medium for myeloma and hybridoma cells
• DMEM/Ham's F-12 : since Harry Eagle’s first reports, studies have been underway to determine the media requirements for individual cell types. The medium found to be most satisfactory for these studies was a 1:1 mixture of DMEM and Ham’s F-12 nutrient mixture. To help compensate for the buffering capacity lost with the removal of serum, HEPES has been added in some modifications at a final concentration of 15 mM
• Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI-1640) media was developed in 1966. It is based on the RPMI-1630 series of media utilizing a bicarbonate buffering system and alterations in the amounts of amino acids and vitamins. While it was originally formulated to support lymphoblastoid in suspension culture, it has since proven to support a wide variety of anchorage-dependant cells. It has a wide range of use, including the culture of fresh human lymphocytes, fusion protocols, and in the growth of hybrid cells.
• Mosier modified medium (MMM) : a 1:1 mixture of IMDM and Ham’s F-12 nutrient mixture. The serum-replacing components are insulin, transferrin, and progesterone^ref





• Grace's insect cell culture media : a modification of Wyatt’s medium, and was originally formulated to support the growth of cells derived from the Australian emperor gum moth, Antherea eucalypti. When supplemented with the proper components, this medium has been shown to support a variety of insect cells including several lepidopterans as well as some dipterans. Although it has been shown to support the growth of some dipterons, it is primarily used in the cultivation of cell lines derived from lepidopterans. In 1970, Hink supplemented Grace’s original formulation (Hink’s TNM-FH) with lactalbumin hydrolysate (LAH) and yeastolate for the culture of cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni cells.
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Insect Pathology Laboratory (IPL-41) insect medium : a modification of Goodwin’s original IPL formulation. It was originally designed to support the growth and maintenance of cell lines descendant from lepidopteran species and the propagation of viruses within these cells. It has also been used for large scale production of baculovirus.
• Leibovitz's L-15 media : L-15 Medium was formulated to support the growth and proliferation of several cell lines in CO₂ free systems without a sodium bicarbonate supplement. Whereas most cell culture media is buffered by sodium bicarbonate, L-15 is buffered by its salts, free base amino acids, and galactose, which is substituted for glucose. The buffering qualitites of these components eliminate the need of a sodium bicarbonate supplement and allow it to be used under conditions of free gaseous exchange with the atmosphere.
• McCoy's 5A media : in 1959, McCoy and his co-workers published the amino acid requirements for the culture of Novikoff hepatoma cells. These studies were originally performed using Basal Medium 5A, but the medium was subsequently modified resulting in the new medium known as McCoy’s 5A Medium. Iwakata and Grace further modified the medium for use in their work with human myeloblasts
• MCDB 131 : MCDB media were developed for the culture of specific cell types without a serum supplement. The media were supplemented with growth factors, hormones, trace elements, or low levels of dialyzed fetal bovine serum protein (FBSP). Each MCDB medium was formulated for a specific cell type. MCDB 131 medium was originally developed for the clonal growth of human micro-vascular endothelial cells (HMVEC)
• Medium 199 (M199) : developed by Morgan, Morton, and Parker in 1950^{ref1, ref2, ref3} in an effort to produce a totally defined nutritional source for explanted tissue. However, long-term cultivation of cells required serum supplement. Currently, it is widely used in virology and vaccine production. It is also used in the culture of many non-transformed cells.
• minimum essential medium (MEM) was developed by Harry Eagle and has become one of the most widely used of all synthetic cell culture media. The original formulation, containing Earle’s balanced salts, was designed for use in propagating mouse L cells and HeLa cells. Eagle found that these cells require 13 amino acids and 7 vitamins to grow and reproduce in vitro. MEM with Earle’s balanced salts is suitable for cell culture in CO₂ charged atmospheres, while MEM with Hank’s salts is suitable for cell culture in normal atmospheric conditions.
• William's medium E : developed by Williams and Gunn as a modification to Williams’ Medium D. Williams’ Medium E was developed during studies performed by Williams and Gunn as they explored the possibilities of culturing adult liver cells on a long-term basis.

• asynchronous culture : one in which cells are randomly distributed with respect to the phase of cell division, as in an ordinary culture of bacteria or animal cells.
• synchronized culture : a culture of bacterial or animal cells in which all cells are in the same phase of cell division.
• thymidine blockage : adding (d)T to the medium inhibits the enzymes for the de novo synthesis of DNA, preventing cells from entering S phase : in fact the recovery pathway leads to (d)TTP accumulation, which inhibits dCTP synthesis. It may be removed by adding dC to the medium or by transfering the culture in a (d)T-less medium.

• log n_t = log n₀ + 2,3 x m' . As m' value changes during culture growth, it is useful to divide culture growth into some phases in which its value is approximatevely constant :
• lag or latency phase (sometimes fall phase !) : when environment is changed, some time is needed to express adaptive enzymes and so no growth occurs. Usually lasting 4÷8 hrs.
• log or exponential phase : exponential culture growth. This can be mantained indefinitely (or, in the case of Eukarya, up to the Hayflick number of a given species) in continuous flow culture (the cultivation of bacteria in a continuous flow of fresh medium to maintain bacterial growth in logarithmic phase) by using a chemostat (Novick-Szilard) or bactogene (Monod) that removes the pollutted medium and air and substitutes them with fresh ones. Otherwise you see ...
• steady state or plateau : no culture growth occurs because of catabolyte accumulation, energy storages depletion and contact inhibition.
• decline phase : cell death occurs at a rhythm faster than cell division
• number of cell divisions in a given time t_n-t₀ = c = 1/T = (log x_n- logx₀)² / [log²2 x (t_n-t₀)²]

• total cells
• manual
• counting cameras (Burker's, Rebuck's,...) under light microscopy
• automatic
• turbidimetry (minimal detected dose = 10⁷ cell/mL; appliable only during exponential phase of culture growth, when most cells have the same diameter)
• ATP dosage by spectrofluorimetry (luciferase assay : light emission at l₁ = 550 nm)
• impedance fall
• Coulter counter : an automated instrument for performing blood counts, based on the principle that cells are poor electrical conductors compared with saline solution.
• microcalorimetry (=> thermocouple => electric current)
• microbiophotometer : an instrument for measuring the growth of bacterial cultures by the turbidity of the medium.
• alive cells
• dilution plate count method : method for estimating the number of viable microorganisms in a sample. The sample is diluted serially and then transferred to agar plates to permit growth and quantification of CFUs.

• (adult) bovine aortic endothelial (ABAE / BAE) cell (BAEC)
• bovine microvascular endothelial (BME)
• COS-7
• fetal calf kidney (CK) (FCK)
• fetal lamb kidney (FLK)
• fetal liver (FL)
• Henriette Lacks (HeLa) cells : cells of the first continuously cultured carcinoma strain, descended from a human cervical carcinoma
• human micro-vascular endothelial cells (HMVEC)
• human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)
• Madine-Darby canine kidney (MDCK)
• National Institutes of Health cell line with optimal growth if subcultivated at 3x10⁵ cell/dish every 3 days  (NIH/3T3)
• porcine aortic endothelial (PAE) cell (PAEC)
• Raji cells : cells from a cultured human lymphoblastoid cell line, derived from a patient with Burkitt's lymphoma, that have receptors for the C1q, C3b, and C3d complement components and can be used for detection of immune complexes (Raji cell assay)
• rat aortic smooth muscle cell (RASMC)
• sheep choroid plexus (SCP) cells
• Vero cells : a cell line derived from African green monkey kidney cells, used in the isolation of viruses

1xN/2	stromal cell line, dependent on IL-7
2D6	bioassays of murine IL-12, respond also to IL-2, IL-4, IL-7
2D9	detection of IFN-g
2E8	detection of human IL-7, murine IL-7
3B6	producer of ADF , thioredoxin ; see: 3B6-IL1
3T3	assays of TGF , PDGF ; producer of HBGF
4-1.10	resistant against OsM growth inhibition
7TD1	detection of IL-6
32D	detection of IL-3, G-CSF
32D-G	detection of G-CSF
32D-Epo	detection of Epo
32D-GM	detection of GM-CSF
47.10	factor-dependent cell line yielding HPP-CFC
5637	Conditioned medium yields general purpose cytokine cocktail
A9.12	detection of IL-2
A375	detection of IL1 ,OsM , IL-6, bovine IL-6
A431	detection of EGF; response to TGF-b, HGF , MIS , SCSGF
A2058	AMF producer