What are the properties that makes agar the substance to solidify microbial media?
Fannie E. Hesse, housewife came up with the idea. She suggested that agar, which she had used to thicken sauces, jams, and jellies, be used to solidify liquid nutrient broth. Scientist Robert Koch then developed agar as a culture media for bacteria. Fannie was the wife of Walther Hesse, one of Koch’s assistants. Prior to agar, they had tried sterile, boiled potatoes, but were not satisfied with the results. Koch was interested in a solid medium for bacteria because it would make isolation of strains much easier. What are the properties that make it the substance to solidify microbial media? That it doesn’t melt until 212°F. That only a small amount of it, about 2%, is needed to be added to the nutrient broth to allow it to gel. And that it doesn’t degrade with most bacteria. That it is cheap.
