Archenemy_6 - 2-5-2017 at 17:52
I was wondering if a media bottle would be ok to use on a hot plate. I'm making a small batch of agar to make some petri dishes and I read a post
where someone said they like to sterilize their mixture in a media bottle. I don't think they necessarily heated and mixed it in the bottle. But I was
thinking of putting in a stir bar and ingredients and heating with a loose cap and then tighten cap and move on to sterilization.
JJay - 2-5-2017 at 19:26
Someone said recently that a media bottle is fine on a hotplate if you put some aluminum foil scrunched up under it to help with heat transfer.
Obviously, this should be a media bottle without a plastic safety coating.
For sterilization in a media bottle, I think professional labs use an autoclave since they're required by CDC guidelines to have one to handle even
the most minor pathogens, which bio labs tend to notice, although a pressure cooker would work fine.
Archenemy_6 - 2-5-2017 at 19:42
I'll definitely use it with foil on a hotplate. Thanks for the advice.
Seeing as they're fairly pricey I'd hate to ruin one before finding out that it would crack or something.
I was planning on using a pressure cooker for sterilizing. I figured the weak point is the cap and that says max temp 140c
I just wasn't sure about the localized heat from a hot plate.
JJay - 2-5-2017 at 19:48
I actually don't recommend heating a media bottle directly on a hotplate without a heating bath, but it's probably ok.
Archenemy_6 - 2-5-2017 at 20:29
Not recommended but reasonable assumption that it will be ok duly noted. I would use a heating bath but I like to keep things things as simple as I
can. I'm a fairly lazy person as it is. But I do like to hear maybe some personal experience if anyone has any.
I don't plan on heating it up too much. Probably just enough to get a nice homogenized mixture before sterilization.
Chemetix - 3-5-2017 at 00:56
Making an agar solution can be done in the microwave. I heard a horror story of someone leaving the lid tightened and it became a pretty good bomb.
The door was sent across the room and hot agar was sprayed like napalm.
A pressure cooker sounds pretty reasonable for an autoclave.
Archenemy_6 - 3-5-2017 at 19:57
I definitely plan on leaving it loose for the mixing but for sterilizing I was planning on tightening it and pressure cooking it at about 15 psi for
30-45 minutes. I'm only planning on making about 150ml of solution