Calculating the Original Concentration of Bacteria

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SUMMARY

The original concentration of bacteria in the stock solution can be accurately calculated using the formula: (number of colonies x dilution factor) / (volume plated x dilution factor of the inoculum). In this case, with a plate count of 30 colonies from a 10^-4 dilution, the correct calculation is (30 x 10^4) / (0.1 x 2), resulting in an original concentration of 1.45 x 10^6 cfu/ml. The initial miscalculation using 10 instead of 0.1 for the volume plated was corrected, confirming the importance of precise measurements in microbiological experiments.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of serial dilutions
  • Knowledge of colony-forming units (cfu)
  • Familiarity with microbiological plating techniques
  • Basic mathematical skills for dilution calculations
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  • Research the principles of serial dilution techniques
  • Learn about calculating colony-forming units (cfu) in microbiology
  • Explore methods for homogenizing biological samples
  • Study the impact of different dilutions on microbial growth
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Microbiologists, laboratory technicians, and researchers involved in bacterial concentration calculations and experimental design in microbiology.

higherme
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I am not really sure how to find the original concentration of bacteria for my experiment.

This is what i did:
I made serial dilutions of 10^-2, 10^-4,10^-6, 10^-8 with stock bacteria.
From 10^-4 dilution, I took out 2ml and inoculated into 20g potatoes + 180g buffer. Potatoes + buffer + inoculum were homogenized. Then I took 0.1 ml from the homogenate and plate onto agar.

If i want to find the original concentration in my stock bacteria, is this what I do:

plate count = 30 colonies

(30 x 10^4) / (10)(2)
= 1.45x10^6 cfu/ml

can someone check if my calculations are correct? Thanks!
 
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the equation should actually read:

(30 x 10^4) / (0.1)(2)
= 1.45 x 10^6 cfu/ml
 

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