G.C. AGAR BASE 500 grams/bottle

GC Agar Base is used with various additives for the isolation and cultivation of pathogenic microorganisms such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Haemophilus influenzae and N. meningitidis. GC Agar Base is employed with the addition of hemoglobin and supplements for the preparation of Chocolate Agar and Thayer-Martin Medium. The Chocolate Agar can be supplemented with the following supplements: - VCN Supplement (Cat. 6013). Turns de medium into Thayer-Martin Medium. - VCAT Supplement (Cat. 6014). For the selective isolation of Neisseria. - VCNT Supplement (Cat. 6026). Also used for the isolation of Neisseria. - LCAT Supplement (Cat. 6012). For the isolation of pathogenic Neisseria. The addition of hemoglobin in Chocolate Agar provides hemin (X factor), required by Haemophilus species and promotes the growth of Neisseria species. A chemical enrichment composed of cofactors, vitamins and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is also required for the growth of Haemophilus and Neisseria spp. If required, antimicrobial supplements are added as inhibitors for an improved selectivity of the medium. In the base medium, peptone mixture provides nitrogen, vitamins, minerals and amino acids essential for growth. Corn starch absorbs any toxic metabolites produced. Dipotassium and monopotossaium phosphates act as buffer systems. Sodium chloride supplies essential electrolytes for transport and osmotic balance. Bacteriological Agar is the solidifying agent. Thayer and Martin improved the selectivity of the GC agar by incorporating antibiotics such as colistin, vancomycin or nystatin, in order to grow fastidious microorganisms that require different growth factors. Thayer-Martin Medium is recommended for the primary isolation of N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis from specimens with mixed flora taken from throat, vagina, rectum and urethra samples. It is designed to reduce the overgrowth of gonococci and meningococci by contaminants, to suppress saprophytic Neisseria species growth and to encourage pathogenic Neisseria growth. On Thayer-Martin Medium the typical colonies of N. gonorrhoeae are white-gray, opaque, sometimes shiny, finely granular in appearance, variable in size (1-2 mm), round with entire or lobate edges and mucoid after 48 hours of incubation.