Modified Tomato Juice Agar Medium - BioReagent

Cat. No.: M1528497

GRADE & PURITY BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Shipped In

Normal

Übersicht

For total lactic acid bacteria enumeration

Specifications

Spezifikationen & Reinheit

BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Verschickt in

Normal

Note

BioReagent

Product Line

biological_products

Application Protocols

Item-specific tested applications: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

General preparation and plating workflow (literature guidance)

1. Weighing and dissolution

• Weigh the specified mass of dehydrated medium per liter of purified water. Typical literature values for tomato juice–based agar formulations are ~50–65 g/L (not specified for this item).
• Suspend in cold/room-temperature water with stirring to prevent clumping. Heat to near boiling with agitation until fully dissolved.

2. Sterilization

• Autoclave per validated cycle (e.g., 121 °C). Do not over-sterilize; excessive heat can darken medium and alter performance.

3. Plate pouring

• Cool to ~45–55 °C. If using supplements (e.g., antibiotics), filter-sterilize them separately and add aseptically.
• Pour 20–25 mL per 90-mm plate on a level surface. Allow to solidify; dry plates to remove surface moisture before use.

4. Inoculation and incubation

• Inoculate via spread plate, pour plate, or streaking. Incubate under conditions suited to target organisms (temperature/atmosphere per method).

5. Quality checks

• Verify pH of prepared medium and perform growth-promotion testing with representative strains as required by your SOP.

Note

• Exact gram-per-liter, target pH, and incubation parameters for SKU M1528497 are Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Biological Roles

Not a single biomolecule

• This product does not possess an intrinsic biological role as a defined molecule; it is a complex nutrient matrix.

Function in microbiology (literature/general)

• Nutritional support: Provides carbohydrates (e.g., glucose, organic acids), amino acids/peptides, vitamins, and minerals required for microbial growth, particularly for aciduric species. Tomato constituents can offer additional micronutrients and growth factors.
• Selectivity by acidity: The inherently acidic character of tomato juice–based formulations helps suppress many neutrophilic bacteria while favoring lactic acid bacteria and certain fungi, aiding selective recovery from acidic foods/beverages.
• Solid support: Agar forms a thermoreversible gel that facilitates isolation of single colonies for purification and downstream identification.
• Stress recovery: Components such as yeast extract and peptones can help resuscitate stressed or sublethally injured cells encountered in processed foods (literature).

Use context

• Employed as part of culture-dependent workflows in food and beverage microbiology, fermentation studies, and environmental testing where acid-tolerant flora are of interest. No medical or clinical diagnostic claims are made for this product.

Buffer Applications

Not typically applicable

• Modified Tomato Juice Agar Medium is a culture medium rather than a defined buffer system. It is not used for precise pH buffering in biochemical assays.

Practical note (literature)

• The prepared medium is typically acidic due to tomato constituents. If stringent buffering is required for an experimental design, use a defined buffer (e.g., citrate, acetate, or phosphate systems) alongside or instead of this complex medium as appropriate.

Green Alternatives

Applicability

• Green-alternative comparisons for organic solvents are not directly applicable to a microbiological medium. However, sustainability and waste-minimization considerations are relevant to media preparation and use.

Sustainability considerations (literature/best practice)

• Dehydrated format: Shipping and storage of dehydrated media reduce transportation mass/volume and extend shelf life compared with pre-filled plates, lowering waste.
• Energy optimization: Batch autoclaving to full capacity and using validated minimal effective sterilization cycles can reduce energy and water use while maintaining sterility assurance.
• Water stewardship: Prepare only the volume needed; use high-quality water to avoid discarding poor-quality gels.
• Waste reduction: Plate only the number of replicates required by your method; consolidate incubations where possible. Autoclave spent/inoculated media before disposal; segregate plastics for recycling where permitted.
• Alternative media selection: For certain applications, media like MRS, acidified Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), or Yeast Extract Glucose Chloramphenicol (YGC) agar may offer similar performance; choosing the most selective/effective medium can reduce repeat testing and waste (literature).

Pharmaceutical Uses

Scope

• No therapeutic or clinical use is claimed. For research and laboratory use only.

Relevant laboratory/formulation roles (literature/general)

• Microbiological QC: Tomato-based agars are occasionally employed in non-sterile pharmaceutical or nutraceutical QC labs to recover acid-tolerant environmental or product-associated microorganisms during method development or investigational testing. Routine compendial tests typically specify standardized media (e.g., Soybean-Casein Digest Agar, Sabouraud Dextrose Agar); use of Modified Tomato Juice Agar would be method-dependent and must be justified and validated.
• Raw material/processing studies: Useful for studying survival/growth of aciduric contaminants in botanicals, syrups, flavors, and acidic excipient systems.

Regulatory note

• This item is not represented as meeting a specific pharmacopeial monograph. If a pharmacopeial method requires a defined medium, adhere to that requirement. Validation (growth-promotion testing, pH, sterility) should be performed per laboratory SOPs when deploying any non-compendial medium.

Physical Properties

Item-specific properties

• Appearance: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Molecular formula / weight: Not applicable (complex mixture)

Literature/typical properties for dehydrated microbiological media

• Physical form: Free-flowing dehydrated powder prior to reconstitution (literature).
• Color: Beige to tan to reddish hues, depending on tomato solids and peptone lot (literature).
• Odor: Mild, characteristic of protein hydrolysates/tomato components (literature).
• Solubility: Intended for aqueous reconstitution; components dissolve/disperse in purified water with heating (literature). Insoluble agar swells and dissolves upon heating to near boiling.
• pH of prepared medium: Typically acidic (commonly around pH 5–6 at 25 °C; literature). Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Gel strength: Determined by agar content; not specified for this item.
• Sterility: Non-sterile as supplied; requires sterilization after dissolution (literature).

Notes

• Because the product is a complex blend, conventional single-compound parameters (bp, mp, density, refractive index, logP) are not meaningful. Practical properties of interest are reconstitution behavior, clarity, gelation, and pH of the prepared medium.

Quality and Grades

Item-specific

• Grade: BioReagent — indicates suitability for biological and microbiological laboratory workflows. This grade emphasizes controlled bioburden in the dehydrated powder, reproducible performance in microbial culture, and low levels of inhibitory contaminants relative to general technical grades.

Practical implications (literature/general)

• Performance consistency: BioReagent media are formulated for consistent colony morphology, recovery rates, and clarity/gel strength when prepared to specification. Lot-to-lot verification typically includes pH, gel firmness, and growth-promotion testing (GPT) with representative organisms.
• Documentation: For exact preparation parameters (grams per liter, target pH, sterilization guidance) and any growth-promotion data specific to this SKU, consult the CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Stabilizers/indicators: Modified Tomato Juice Agar may include indicators or buffering components depending on the formulation; none are specified for this item. Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Suitability: Commonly chosen for selective recovery and enumeration of acid-tolerant microbes (e.g., lactic acid bacteria, yeasts/molds) from beverages and foods, owing to its acidic tomato base (literature). Ensure the grade matches your application (research/QC) and validation needs.

Reaction and Applications

Reactions

• Not applicable. This product is not intended for use as a chemical reagent in synthetic reactions.

Applications (literature/general for this medium class)

• Selective cultivation/enumeration: Used for recovery of acid-tolerant organisms such as Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., and yeasts/molds from acidic foods and beverages (e.g., tomato products, juices, wines, ciders, beers). The tomato base contributes natural acids and growth factors, enhancing recovery of stressed cells.
• Quality control and monitoring: Useful in food and beverage microbiology labs for process and finished-product testing. Its acidity helps suppress many neutrophiles, increasing selectivity for aciduric microbes (literature).
• Colony morphology: The gel matrix and nutrient composition support well-separated colonies suitable for isolation and downstream identification (staining, biochemical tests, MALDI-TOF).

Practical tips (literature)

• Sample pretreatment: For heavily contaminated samples, consider dilution series and surface spreading to obtain countable plates (25–250 CFU).
• Incubation: Select temperature and atmosphere to match target organisms (e.g., 25–30 °C for yeasts/molds; 30–37 °C for lactic acid bacteria; aerobic vs. microaerophilic/anaerobic as needed).
• pH considerations: Acidic pH is essential to selectivity. Verify prepared medium pH against CoA. Adjust only if consistent with your validated method.
• Confirmation: Use differential/confirmatory media or molecular assays to verify isolate identity.

Reaction Conditions

Not applicable to chemical reactions.

Preparation/usage conditions (literature/general for this medium class)

• Reconstitution: Dissolve the specified mass of dehydrated medium per liter of purified water (typical literature ranges for tomato juice–based agars are approximately 50–65 g/L, depending on formulation). Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Heating: Mix and heat with frequent agitation until agar and components are fully dissolved; avoid scorching.
• Sterilization: Autoclave using a validated cycle (e.g., 121 °C). Allow to cool to ~45–55 °C before adding heat-labile supplements (if any) and pouring plates (literature guidance).
• Incubation: Select temperature and atmosphere according to target organisms (e.g., 25–30 °C for yeasts/molds; 30–37 °C for lactic acid bacteria). Incubation times commonly range from 24–72 h or longer for molds (literature).
• Expected outcomes: Growth-promotion suitability should be verified with representative strains relevant to your application; colony counts should fall within method-validated ranges.

Important

• Exact preparation parameters, target pH, and performance characteristics are Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Safety and Handling

Item-specific hazard data

• Signal word / H-statements / GHS classification / Pictograms: Not specified for this item; refer to the product SDS for authoritative information.

General safety considerations for dehydrated culture media (literature/practice)

• Primary hazards: Nuisance dust; may cause mechanical irritation to eyes, skin, or respiratory tract. Avoid generating dust clouds.
• PPE: Laboratory coat, safety glasses/goggles, and appropriate gloves. Use a dust mask or respirator if airborne particulates may be generated (per risk assessment).
• Handling: Reconstitute with purified water. Heat with stirring to fully dissolve and melt agar. Exercise caution to prevent burns and boil-over.
• Sterilization: Autoclave per validated cycle (e.g., 121 °C) unless medium is heat-sensitive; follow your lab’s SOP. Allow media to cool to ~45–55 °C before pouring plates to minimize condensation and ingredient precipitation (literature guidance).
• Incompatibilities: Avoid strong oxidizers; protect dehydrated powder from moisture uptake, which can lead to clumping and microbial growth.
• Post-use biohazard: Once inoculated, treat all media and disposables as biohazardous. Decontaminate by autoclaving before disposal according to institutional and regulatory requirements.
• First aid (overview): If inhaled, move to fresh air; if on skin/eyes, rinse with water; if ingested, rinse mouth with water. Seek medical attention if symptoms persist. Defer to SDS for details.

Environmental: Avoid release of nutrient-rich broths to drains; autoclave and dispose per regulations.

Solvent Selection

Applicability

• This product is a dehydrated culture medium, not a solvent. Solvent selection in the classical sense does not apply.

Practical guidance (literature/general)

• Reconstitution vehicle: Use purified/deionized water meeting ASTM/ISO Type II or microbiology-grade water. Water quality affects clarity, gelling, and background flora.
• Miscibility: The prepared medium is aqueous; agar provides a gel matrix on cooling. Organic solvent use is not typical and can inhibit microbial growth.
• When to choose this medium: Select Modified Tomato Juice Agar when cultivating or enumerating acidophilic organisms from fruit juices, wines, beers, and fermented foods where an acidic, tomato-based nutrient profile enhances recovery (literature). For strictly anaerobic lactic acid bacteria, pair with appropriate anaerobic systems.

Comparison (literature)

• Modified Tomato Juice Agar vs. MRS Agar: MRS offers rich, buffered conditions for lactic acid bacteria; Tomato Juice media provide a more acidic, food-matrix–mimicking environment that can be advantageous for certain samples. Choice depends on target organisms and selectivity needs.

Storage and Reconstitution

Item-specific (from Product Data)

• Storage conditions (as supplied): Room temperature.
• Shipping: Shipped under normal conditions.
• Research use note: For research use only.

General guidance (literature/practice)

• As supplied: Store dehydrated medium tightly closed in a cool, dry place. Protect from humidity and direct light. Minimize repeated opening; use desiccant where appropriate.
• Shelf life: Use by the date on the label/CoA. If none provided here, Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Reconstitution and sterile product storage (literature)

• Reconstitution: Dissolve the specified mass per liter of purified water; heat to dissolve; sterilize by autoclaving unless otherwise directed. Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Prepared agar: After pouring and solidification, store plates in sealed sleeves or bags at 2–8 °C to limit dehydration and contamination. Allow plates to equilibrate to room temperature before use to avoid condensation.
• Broth (if prepared without agar): Store at 2–8 °C and use promptly; inspect for contamination or precipitation before use.
• Stability: Prepared media are best used within 2–4 weeks when stored at 2–8 °C (literature). Monitor for drying, pH drift, or contamination.

Disposal

• Autoclave all used or expired prepared media before disposal according to institutional biosafety and local regulations.

Structure and Identity

Item-specific (from Product Data)

• Product name: Modified Tomato Juice Agar Medium (SKU: M1528497)
• Grade: BioReagent
• Storage: Room temperature; shipped under normal conditions
• Research use: For research use only

General description (literature/typical for this medium)

• Composition type: Complex, undefined microbiological medium formulated from multiple ingredients; not a single chemical entity.
• Typical constituents: Tomato solids/juice concentrate (acidic carbohydrate/vitamin source), peptones/tryptones (nitrogen/amino acids), yeast extract (growth factors), dextrose (fermentable carbon), inorganic salts, and agar (gelling agent). Exact composition varies by manufacturer.
• Molecular identifiers: Not applicable to complex mixtures.
  • Molecular formula: Not applicable (mixture)
  • Molecular weight: Not applicable (mixture)
  • SMILES / InChI / InChIKey: Not applicable (mixture)

2D structural features (descriptive; literature)

• As a heterogeneous blend, the “structure” is a physical mixture of low– to high–molecular-weight organics (sugars, peptides, nucleotides, vitamins) plus polysaccharide agar. No discrete stoichiometric structure or stereochemistry can be assigned to the product as a whole.

Synthetic Utility

Not applicable

• This product is a complex microbiological medium and is not used as a synthetic reagent, catalyst, or building block. It does not provide defined functional-group reactivity for organic synthesis.

Related laboratory utility (literature)

• Utility lies in enabling cultivation, isolation, and enumeration of acid-tolerant microorganisms to support studies that may inform biotransformations or fermentation optimization. Any chemical synthesis would be separate from this medium’s use.

Target Specificity

Not applicable

• This product is not an antibody, probe, or affinity reagent. It does not possess molecular target specificity in the immunochemical sense.

Use context (literature)

• Functionally, the medium is selective by environmental conditions (acidic pH and nutrient composition) rather than by biochemical targeting, tending to favor growth of acid-tolerant organisms over neutrophiles.