Question 1

If you do not have an autoclave available but otherwise have a sterile area for inoculation would it still work? Does the agar have to be autoclaved?

Accepted Answer

a pressure cooker works really well in place of an autoclave, I use one myself. 15psi for various amounts of time depending on the material.  about 45 min for Malt Extract Agar in a 500ml or 1000ml media specimen bottle (with a proper autoclavable lid, left slightly loosened to allow pressure release from the internal expanding boiling gases without letting in steam and changing the water balance of the mix as well.. basically just enough to be a pressure valve or it may shatter.. from internal pressure.) works great. I pour the dishes in a still air box that I set up with HEPA filtration ventilation for positive air flow as a makeshift laminar flow hood using positive sterile air flow to keep the germs and molds and whatnot from my dishes when I pour, tho the heat does a good job as well, as you want to pour while it's still fairly warm (around 150f).. my contamination rate is super low, 0% on my last batch of 120 dishes in fact but never has been higher than 4% (basically 4 dishes out of 100 showing any kind of growth on them a week after initial pour). I also wear gloves and use 70% iso alc for disinfecting into the box.

hope this helps, works great for me and is a low cost solution.

Question 2

I would like to know how many grams of mea per 100ml would i need to make culture slants for brewers yeast? thanks

Accepted Answer

100g/1800ml will give g per ml if you need smalller increments.

Question 3

How clear is the end result?

Accepted Answer

By GGREENE on December 29, 2020

Question 4

Is it really necessary to boil before autoclaving? other mea's ive used you just mix it in your vessel and autoclave for 45mins. would this be ok?

Accepted Answer

You want to mix it with boiling/hot water so it gets mixed evenly

Product Dimensions	3 x 3 x 3 cm; 100 g
Manufacturer reference	0Z-UI35-XG2B
Units	100.0 gram
Brand	Seaweed Solution Laboratories

Seaweed Solution Laboratories Malt Extract Agar (MEA) Dehydrated, 100 grams

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