Instruments used in microbiology
Appearance
Instruments used specially in microbiology include:[1][2]
Instrument list
Instrument | Uses |
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autoclave | used for sterilization of glass ware and media |
auto-destruct syringes | specimen collection |
Bijou bottle | a cylindrical small glass bottle with a screw cap used as a culture medium holder |
Biosafety cabinet | used to work with dangerous organisms and to work sterile |
Blood collection bottle | to collect blood by venipuncture |
Brittany | a process of free from spore-bearing bacteria |
Bunsen burner | used to work aseptic on the bench |
Candle jar | historically used for anaerobiosis; a lit candle was placed in as air-tight jar such that when it went out it would be because it used up all the available oxygen |
Castaneda's medium / Castaneda's bottle | used for simultaneous solid and liquid cultures in many bottles |
Centrifuge | to separate supernatant & pellet |
Cragie tube | see link |
Desiccator | to dry things |
Durham's tube | used to detect gas production in sugar fermentation media; the tube is placed in an inverted fashion so that gases produced get trapped in it and do not float away to the surface |
Gas-pak | releases gases to remove oxygen from a closed container, usually for anaerobiosis |
Haemagglutination plate | for viral culture detection |
Hungate Anaerobic tubes | for culturing of anaerobic microbes |
Incubator | used for bacterial or fungal cultures |
Inoculation loop: | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc. Sterilized by passing through a blue flame. |
Laminar flow cabinet | used to work aseptic |
Latex agglutination tiles | for serological analysis |
Lovibond comparator | a type of a colorimeter |
McCartney's bottle or Flat medical bottle | for simultaneous solid and liquid cultures. |
McIntosh and Filde's anaerobic jar | production of anaerobic conditions for organisms that die in the presence of even little oxygen (anaerobiosis), e.g. tetanus bacteria |
Microtitre plates | for ELISA |
Nichrome wire loop | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; sterilized by flaming to red hot before use |
Petri dish/agar plate | to act as a supporting container to hold the culture medium in |
Platinum wire loop | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; sterilized by flaming to red hot before use |
Pre-sterilized disposable container | specimen collection |
Pre-sterilized disposable swabs / NIH swab / postnasal swab | specimen collection |
Pre-sterilized disposable syringe / auto-destruct syringes | specimen collection |
Roux culture bottle | Bottle designed to use laying flat, useful for growing mass cultures and single or monolayer cultures. |
Serological test slides like those for ASO, VDRL, rheumatoid factor | vide links |
Sterile loops | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; not heated before use—these are disposable pre-sterilised |
Thermal cycler | used to amplify segments of DNA via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. |
Tissue culture bottles | to grow or keep alive cells or tissue from a living organism, e.g. stem cells |
Tuberculin syringe | as a normal syringe or to perform Mantoux test |
Universal container | a cylindrical small glass bottle with a screw cap used as a culture medium holder |
Vaccine bath | used to heat vaccine containing medium gently to around 45-55 degrees Celsius during vaccine production |
Microscope | to observe microscopic specimens that cannot be seen by the naked eye. |
Vacuum pump | to draw out the air from any closed chamber before pumping back CO2, O2 or N2, usually for anaerobiosis |
VDRL rotator | for VDRL test |
Specimen Dish | used to hold specimen or samples |
As well as those "used in microbiological sterilization and disinfection" (see relevant section).
Image gallery
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An inoculation loop is used to transfer bacteria for microbiological culture.
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Petri dish
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Agar plate
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Tuberculin syringe
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Candle jar
References
- ^ Textbook of Microbiology by Prof. C P Baveja, ISBN 81-7855-266-3
- ^ Textbook of Microbiology by Ananthanarayan and Panikar, ISBN 81-250-2808-0