Inspissation
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Inspissation is the process of thickening by dehydration. More specifically, it is the process used when heating high-protein containing media; for example to enable recovery of bacteria for testing. Once inspissation has occurred, any stained bacteria, such as Mycobacteria, can then be isolated.
A common example of inspissation is frying an egg; the loss of water from the protein causes the egg to thicken from a gelatinous fluid to a solid.
A Serum inspissation or Fractional sterilization is a process of heating an article on 3 successive days as follows:
| Day | Temperature | Time | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85°C | 60 minutes | Drying of the medium and killing the organisms in their vegetative form |
| Time in between | overnight incubation | Growth of vegetative forms from spores | |
| 2 | 75 to 80°C | 20 minutes | killing the organisms in their vegetative form |
| Time in between | overnight incubation | Growth of vegetative forms from any spores remaining | |
| 3 | 75 to 85°C | 20 minutes | killing the organisms in their vegetative form |
[edit] 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
