Aseptic technique Flashcards
Is a colony visible to the naked eye?
Yes
What happens if you provide bacteria with enough food, warmth, and oxygen?
They will divide rapidly to produce a colony
What does bacteria need to become/produce a colony?
Enough food, warmth, and oxygen.
What are bacteria grown in?
We usually grow microbes in special dishes called PETRI DISHES which allow air to pass freely in and out but exclude foreign organisms and their spores.
What do we put in these petri dishes?
We put a jelly-like material called AGAR JELLY in the dishes. The jelly contains food for the bacteria.
What must be sterilised?
All equipment
Why must equipment be sterilized?
All the equipment must be sterilized (heated to a high temperature) to kill any microbes that may already be there, which makes it UNCONTAMINATED.
What does it mean to sterilize?
Heat to a high temperature
Why do we need uncontaminated cultures?
We use uncontaminated cultures to investigate the affect of chemicals such and disinfectants and antibiotics on micro organisms
What temperature should we incubate our microorganisms at in schools?
25 degrees c in schools
What temperature should we incubate our microorganisms at in labs??
37 degrees c in laboratories.
Why do we incubate at 25 degrees in schools?
If we incubate at a higher temperature this could lead to the growth of harmful pathogens, which is unsafe for a school environment!
How do you do asceptic technique?
1) Wash hands thoroughly, wear goggles, and sterilize all equipment before use
2) Set the Bunsen burner to the blue flame by completely opening the air hole, in order to create a sterile area.
3) Do not put the lid of any bottled bacteria (eg: E.coli) onto the table, because it has bacteria on it. Instead re apply the lid when done with it.
4) Once the lid is removed, pass the mouth of the bottle through the Bunsen burner flame in order to kill any bacteria.
5) Keeping the petri dishes within the sterile are
6) lift the lid of the petri dish open by only a small amount each time.
7) Pass inoculating loop through bunsen burner flame to sterilize it + don’t put it on a surface after as it will become contaminated again.
What is meant by aseptic technique?
a technique to prevent contamination
what is our final goal for after using this technique?
have colonies which are easily countable + uncontaminated
