Lab 6: Coliform Determination by the Membrane Filter Technique
Lab 6: Lab Coliform Determination by the Membrane Filter Technique (Photo: Steve Nease) Introduction The purpose of this lab will ultimately be to familiarize ourselves with counting coliform microorganism colonies as well as another plating method called the membrane filter technique. The total viable count is based upon the ability of a microorganism placed in a nutrient environment to grow. While individual microorganisms cannot be seen with the naked eye, they can grow in colonies which are visible to any plain Jane. Counting the colonies gives an indication of the number of viable colony forming units (CFU) present in the original sample. However, the appropriate growth medium must be chosen first to get to the counting phase. This part is crucial because the accuracy will be best if the chosen medium is as similar as possible to the sample environment. The membrane filter technique uses the semi pe...
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