Development and evaluation of the quick anaero-system-a new disposable anaerobic culture system.
BACKGROUND
We developed a new disposable anaerobic culture system, namely, the Quick anaero-system, for easy culturing of obligate anaerobes.


METHODS
Our system consists of 3 components: 1) new disposable anaerobic gas pack, 2) disposable culture-envelope and sealer, and 3) reusable stainless plate rack with mesh containing 10 g of palladium catalyst pellets. To evaluate the efficiency of our system, we used 12 anaerobic bacteria. We prepared 2 sets of ten-fold serial dilutions of the 12 anaerobes, and inoculated these samples on Luria-Bertani (LB) broth and LB blood agar plate (LB-BAP) (BD Diagnostic Systems, USA). Each set was incubated in the Quick anaero-system (DAS Tech, Korea) and BBL GasPak jar with BD GasPak EZ Anaerobe Container System (BD Diagnostic Systems) at 35-37 degrees C for 48 hr. The minimal inoculum size showing visible growth of 12 anaerobes when incubated in both the systems was compared.


RESULTS
The minimal inoculum size showing visible growth for 2 out of the 12 anaerobes in the LB broth and 9 out of the 12 anaerobes on LB-BAP was lower for the Quick anaero-system than in the BD GasPak EZ Anaerobe Container System. The mean time (+/-SD) required to achieve absolute anaerobic conditions of the Quick anaero-system was 17 min and 56 sec (+/-3 min and 25 sec).


CONCLUSIONS
The Quick anaero-system is a simple and effective method of culturing obligate anaerobes, and its performance is superior to that of the BD GasPak EZ Anaerobe Container System.
Yang
Nam Woong
NW
Department of Microbiology, Chosun University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
Kim
Jin Man
JM
Choi
Gwang Ju
GJ
Jang
Sook Jin
SJ
D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000254:growth & development*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
D003470:Culture Media; D005740:Gases; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D010165:Palladium