A SIMPLE AND RAPID TEST FOR QUALITY-CONTROL OF LIQUID-MEDIA, USING THE BIOSCREEN MICROBIOLOGICAL-GROWTH ANALYZER

Most commercially produced dehydrated media are rigorously tested by t he suppliers, but it is vital that performance is also checked by the consumer following reconstitution and sterilisation. Poor quality cont rol (QC) of laboratory media can adversely affect the results of an en tire microbiology laboratory, yet with simple tests the performance of culture media can be easily monitored. The performance of liquid medi a is generally assessed by comparing test and control broths for appro ximately equal bacterial growth and turbidity is usually measured by e ye. This method is time consuming, involving many serial dilutions, as well as being very subjective. An ideal QC test would be rapid and au tomated, removing as much human error as possible. This study details trials performed using the Bioscreen to compare growth of organisms in test and control broths. This proved to be a cheap, rapid and reliabl e means of assessing the quality of liquid media. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience B.V.