2216E Agar - BioReagent

Cat. No.: E1528467

GRADE & PURITY BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Shipped In

Normal

Overview

For enumeration and cultivation of marine bacteria.

Specifications

Specifications & Purity

BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Shipped In

Normal

Grade

BioReagent

Product Line

Biological Products

Application Protocols

No assay-specific, item-validated protocols are provided in the Product Data. General literature guidance for plate preparation and use applies:

• Weigh the labeled mass per liter of dehydrated medium (see label/CoA for this SKU). Disperse in high-purity water, heat to dissolve agar.
• Autoclave (e.g., 121 °C, ~15 min). Cool to 45–50 °C, then pour sterile plates.
• Dry plates if needed to remove surface moisture, then streak or spread samples. Incubate aerobically at temperatures suited to the isolates (often 15–25 °C; literature). Monitor for up to 48–96 h for slow growers.

For detailed, validated protocols (e.g., heterotrophic plate counts for specific standards), consult your institutional SOPs or relevant guidelines. This product is for research use only.

Biological Roles

This product is not a biological macromolecule with intrinsic cellular function; rather, it is a formulated medium that supports the growth of marine and estuarine heterotrophic bacteria for research use.

Functional context (literature):

• Nutrient sources: Peptones and yeast extract provide amino acids, peptides, vitamins, and growth factors required by many marine heterotrophs.
• Ionic environment: The marine salt mixture provides Na+, Cl−, Mg2+, SO4 2−, Ca2+, K+, HCO3 −/Br−/Sr2+ (trace), and other ions at seawater-like ratios, supporting osmotic balance, membrane potential, and enzyme cofactor needs of marine microbes.
• Trace components: Small amounts of iron (e.g., ferric citrate in some formulations) can stimulate growth and pigment formation in certain taxa.

Use cases:

• Cultivation and maintenance: Enables isolation and subculture prior to genomic, metabolomic, or biochemical assays.
• Ecological studies: Facilitates enumeration of culturable fractions in marine samples, complementing culture-independent methods.

Limitations:

• Selectivity: As a general marine medium, it is not selective or differential unless modified with inhibitors/indicators.
• Fastidious organisms: Some oligotrophs or symbionts may require lower nutrient levels or specific substrates (e.g., defined seawater media)

Note: No medical or clinical roles are implied. This reagent is intended solely for laboratory research and environmental/aquaculture testing where permitted.

Buffer Applications

This product is a complete culture medium rather than a dedicated buffer. It is not typically used as a standalone buffering agent.

Relevant pH considerations (literature):

• Target pH of prepared Marine Agar 2216 is commonly near neutral to slightly alkaline (e.g., ~7.6 at 25 °C), reflecting seawater conditions. The effective buffering arises from the marine salt system (notably bicarbonate/phosphate equilibria) rather than a discrete buffer like Tris or HEPES.
• Adjusting pH: If pH adjustment is required, use sterile 1 N HCl or NaOH prior to autoclaving to the value indicated on the product label. Recheck pH after sterilization and cooling, as autoclaving can shift pH slightly.

Practical notes:

• For assays that demand tighter pH control, investigators sometimes overlay the medium with artificial seawater buffered with a defined system (e.g., 10–20 mM HEPES) or prepare a custom medium incorporating a dedicated buffer (literature practices). Validate compatibility with target organisms.
• In plates, local pH can drift during prolonged incubation due to microbial metabolism. Shorter incubation or buffered overlays can mitigate this effect.

If your goal is electrophoresis or biochemical buffering, choose a dedicated buffer system (e.g., Tris-borate-EDTA, phosphate buffer). For microbiological growth of marine bacteria, this medium’s inherent pH environment is typically sufficient.

Green Alternatives

Environmental and safety considerations for culture media center on energy use for sterilization, consumables, and waste rather than solvent hazards.

Opportunities and trade-offs (general guidance):

• Autoclave efficiency:
  • Consolidate sterilization runs and use liquid cycles optimized for volume to reduce energy and water consumption.
  • Consider validated terminal sterilization by filtration for heat-labile supplements added post-autoclave to avoid repeated cycles.
• Ready-to-use plates vs. in-house pouring:
  • Ready plates reduce autoclave and plastic waste from petri dish wrapping on-site but increase shipping volume and refrigeration at the supplier; in-house pouring can be greener if done in efficient batches with minimal waste.
• Media selection:
  • For non-marine isolates, nutrient/general-purpose agars may suffice, avoiding the higher salt load of marine media; however, for obligate marine bacteria, Marine Agar 2216 is appropriate and reduces failed cultures/repeats (which themselves consume resources).
• Water use and waste:
  • Prepare only what you need. Unused prepared media has limited shelf life; discarding expired plates increases autoclave cycles and waste.

Comparison snapshot (literature, qualitative):

• Marine Agar 2216: Optimal for marine heterotrophs; requires full-strength salinity; standard autoclave energy demand.
• Marine Broth 2216: Eliminates single-use plates but still requires autoclaving; useful for enrichments.
• Low-salt general agars (e.g., TSA): Lower salt mass per liter but often unsuitable for strict marine bacteria, leading to repeat experiments.

Sourcing and packaging:

• Select larger pack sizes to minimize packaging per liter prepared if turnover is high; reseal with desiccant to maintain product integrity.

Pharmaceutical Uses

No clinical or therapeutic uses are claimed. For research use only (as provided).

Industry and QA/QC contexts (non-clinical, literature):

• Environmental monitoring: Enumeration of heterotrophic marine bacteria in seawater used for process utilities (e.g., cooling, ballast, aquaculture) where marine conditions prevail.
• Bioprocess support: Maintenance of marine isolates used in discovery programs (e.g., natural products, enzymes) prior to upstream screening.
• Raw material/ingredient testing in marine-related supply chains (e.g., seawater intake for aquaculture hatcheries) to verify microbial load using heterotrophic plate counts.

Formulation and compliance notes:

• This medium is not an excipient and has no direct role in pharmaceutical formulations. It may be used in laboratories that support pharma/biotech R&D where marine organisms are studied.
• Compendial status: Marine Agar 2216 is not a standard pharmacopeial medium; methods and acceptance criteria, if required, should be defined in internal SOPs or relevant regulatory/industry guidelines.

Operational considerations:

• Document lot/label data and growth-promotion results when used in regulated environments.
• Validate incubation temperature/time and plate-reading criteria for your target sample type, as marine heterotrophs can be slow-growing compared with common indicator organisms.

Physical Properties

Item-specific values not provided in the Product Data. For complex dehydrated media, many conventional single-compound properties (bp, mp, logP, etc.) do not apply. Where helpful, typical literature observations are noted.

Item-specific (from Product Data):

• Appearance: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Storage conditions: Room temperature (as provided).
• Shipped in: Normal (as provided).

General/literature characteristics (for orientation only; not specifications):

• Physical form: Dehydrated, free-flowing powder or granules; color often beige/tan due to peptones and yeast extract.
• Solubility: Readily dispersible in purified water when heated; agar requires heating to dissolve fully; salts dissolve at room temperature.
• pH (prepared medium): Commonly adjusted to approximately neutral–slightly alkaline (e.g., pH ~7.4–7.8 at 25 °C) to mimic seawater; verify and adjust per the label for this item (literature).
• Gelation: Agar solidifies on cooling to about 32–40 °C and melts at ~85–95 °C (literature, agar property).

Not applicable to mixtures:

• Boiling/melting point, density, refractive index, logP, and pKa are not meaningful for this heterogeneous product.

Always confirm exact preparation mass per liter, target pH, and any supplements on the product label/CoA.

Quality & Grades

• Grade/Purity provided: BioReagent

What BioReagent grade implies (general guidance):

• Intended for research and laboratory use, manufactured to meet consistency and performance attributes important for biological workflows (e.g., sterility on preparation, growth performance, and lot-to-lot reproducibility). Does not imply clinical/diagnostic suitability.
• Emphasis on low bioburden and controlled nutrient profile appropriate for microbial culture after sterilization by the user.

Item-specific notes:

• This is a complex medium (2216E/Marine Agar 2216) rather than a chemically defined product. Performance is typically assessed by growth promotion tests with representative marine isolates or reference strains. Exact acceptance criteria, if any, are not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Stabilizers/antimicrobials: None are indicated in the Product Data; if present, they would be declared on the label/CoA. Do not assume selective agents are included.

Good practice for quality verification:

• Record lot number and perform small-batch pilot pours to confirm gel strength, clarity, pH, and growth promotion with relevant organisms.
• Use high-purity water (e.g., ASTM Type 1 or 2) to minimize variability. Verify pH after sterilization and cooling.
• If your application requires specific ionic strength or trace element profiles, consult the CoA for this SKU or supplement accordingly.

Regulatory/traceability:

• Research use only (as provided). Not for human or animal therapeutic use. For lab research work, environmental, food, or aquaculture testing where permitted.

Reaction & Applications

This is a microbiological culture medium; conventional organic “reactions” do not apply. The relevant applications are microbiological workflows focused on marine and estuarine bacteria.

Typical research applications (literature):

• Isolation and maintenance of heterotrophic marine bacteria from seawater, sediments, biofilms, and marine organisms.
• Heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) of seawater, ballast water, aquaculture systems, and marine process waters.
• Recovery of mildly fastidious marine taxa that require natural seawater-like ionic composition and trace nutrients.
• Pre-enrichment and purification of strains prior to physiological tests, genome sequencing, or natural products screening.

Practical tips for success:

• Sample salinity: For direct plating of seawater, use the medium as labeled (do not dilute with freshwater). For low-salinity estuarine samples, consider parallel plating on both full- and reduced-salinity formulations to capture broader diversity (literature practice).
• Temperature and incubation: Many marine heterotrophs grow at 15–25 °C; mesophilic isolates may grow at 25–30 °C. Use aerobic conditions unless otherwise indicated for your isolates (literature guidance).
• Colony morphology: Marine media often yield translucent to opaque colonies; extended incubation (48–96 h) may be needed for slow growers.
• Downstream work: Colonies can be subcultured on fresh 2216E or transitioned to defined seawater media for physiological assays.

Note: For selective isolation (e.g., vibrios), supplements or alternative media may be required. This catalog item is for general heterotrophic recovery unless stated otherwise on the label.

Reaction Conditions

Not applicable in the context of organic or inorganic chemical reactions. For microbiological use, typical preparation involves reconstitution in purified water, sterilization by autoclaving, and incubation of inoculated plates at temperatures appropriate for marine bacteria (literature). Refer to Solvent Selection, Reaction & Applications, and Storage & Reconstitution for practical conditions.

Safety & Handling

GHS/SDS

• Signal word, hazard statements, classification, pictograms: Not specified for this item; refer to the product SDS for authoritative information.

General laboratory precautions (good practice for dehydrated culture media):

• PPE: Use lab coat, safety glasses, and appropriate gloves to avoid dust contact and skin exposure.
• Dust management: Avoid creating dust/aerosols; use local exhaust or weigh in a fume hood if dusting is likely.
• Inhalation/ingestion: Do not inhale powder or ingest. Wash hands thoroughly after handling.
• Thermal hazards: Hot media can cause burns. Use heat-resistant gloves and eye/face protection when removing from autoclave and pouring plates.
• Biological risk: Once inoculated, plates/broths may contain viable microorganisms. Treat all used media as biohazardous; decontaminate by autoclaving before disposal in accordance with institutional biosafety procedures.

Storage and incompatibilities:

• Storage: Room temperature (per Product Data); keep tightly closed in a dry place. Protect from humidity to prevent clumping and premature agar hydration.
• Incompatibilities: Strong oxidizers and acids/bases are not typically relevant during routine handling, but keep separate from volatile chemicals that could adsorb into the medium. Avoid moisture uptake; use desiccant where appropriate.

First aid overview (general):

• Eye/skin contact: Rinse with water; remove contaminated clothing. Seek medical attention if irritation persists.
• Inhalation: Move to fresh air; seek medical advice if symptoms occur.
• Ingestion: Rinse mouth; seek medical advice. Provide SDS to healthcare personnel.

Always consult the SDS specific to this SKU for definitive hazard and response information.

Solvent Selection

As a dehydrated growth medium containing agar and sea salts, this product is intended to be reconstituted in purified water rather than used with organic solvents.

• Primary solvent: High-purity water (ASTM Type 1–2). The marine salts and peptones dissolve readily; agar requires heating to dissolve fully.
• Water quality considerations:
  • Low TOC and low ionic contaminants help ensure consistent gel strength and growth performance.
  • Avoid deionizers that leach amines or organics; freshly produced RO/DI water is preferred.
• Salinity and ionic strength:
  • Marine media emulate seawater. Do not dilute below the label’s prescribed mass-per-liter; this will reduce salinity and impair growth of strictly marine bacteria.
  • If working with brackish isolates, some users adjust total dissolved salts by ±10–30% (literature practice); validate for your strains.
• Sterilization approach:
  • Autoclave at 121 °C for ~15 minutes (liquid cycle), then cool to 45–50 °C before pouring plates to maintain agar integrity (literature guidance). Avoid overheating/overcycles that can darken peptones and reduce gel strength.

Comparison to alternatives (general):

• Marine Agar 2216 vs. Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA): 2216 includes marine ions and typically supports higher recovery of obligate marine heterotrophs; TSA lacks seawater salts and may underperform for strictly marine species.
• Marine Agar 2216 vs. Marine Broth 2216: Broth is for liquid culture; agar provides solid surface for colony isolation and enumeration.

Storage & Reconstitution

Storage (as provided):

• Store at room temperature. Keep the container tightly sealed and protected from humidity. Reseal promptly after use; include a desiccant if available. Avoid prolonged exposure to light and heat that may degrade nutrient components.

Reconstitution and sterilization (general literature guidance; follow the label/CoA for this SKU):

• Mass per liter: Use the exact g/L printed on this item’s label. Marine Agar 2216 products commonly specify a mass in the approximate range typical for marine media; do not substitute generic values—follow this item’s instructions.
• Water: Use high-purity water (ASTM Type 1–2). Disperse powder with stirring. Heat to near boiling to fully dissolve agar.
• pH: Adjust to the label’s target pH (commonly near 7.6 at 25 °C in literature) before sterilization if required. Verify again after sterilization and cooling.
• Sterilization: Autoclave at 121 °C for ~15 minutes (standard liquid cycle). Do not over-autoclave, which can darken the medium and reduce gel strength.
• Plate pouring: Cool to 45–50 °C, then pour into sterile petri dishes. Allow to solidify on a level surface. If surface moisture is present, dry plates in a biosafety cabinet with lids ajar until droplets disappear.
• Supplements: Add heat-labile components (e.g., antibiotics, indicators) post-sterilization after cooling to ≤50 °C, using sterile technique.

Shelf life of prepared plates (general):

• Store sealed plates at 2–8 °C in the dark. Use as soon as practical; many labs target use within 2–4 weeks, subject to in-house validation. Inspect for dehydration, contamination, or pH/appearance shifts before use.

Disposal:

• Autoclave used or expired media prior to disposal per institutional biosafety policies.

Research use only (as provided).

Structure & Identity

This product is a complex dehydrated culture medium formulated for marine microbiology, commonly referred to as Marine Agar 2216 (also known as 2216E). As a blended medium, it does not have a single defined molecular structure.

• SKU: E1528467
• Product name: 2216E Agar (Marine Agar 2216)
• CAS, CID, InChIKey, SMILES: Not applicable to complex mixtures; not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Molecular formula / Molecular weight: Not applicable for a mixture; not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

General composition notes (literature):

• Typically contains a gelling agent (agar), complex nitrogen sources (e.g., peptones), yeast extract (vitamins/growth factors), trace iron (e.g., ferric citrate), and a defined marine salt mixture to emulate seawater ionic strength and composition. Exact component identities and amounts vary by manufacturer; consult the item label/CoA for definitive composition.

2D structural description:

• Not applicable. The product is a heterogeneous blend of biogenic polymers (e.g., agarose/agar), peptides, and inorganic salts rather than a single molecule with a definable 2D structure.

Use domain:

• Designed for isolation, maintenance, and enumeration of heterotrophic marine and estuarine bacteria under aerobic conditions. Research use only.

Synthetic Utility

Not applicable. 2216E Agar is a microbiological growth medium, not a synthetic building block or reagent for chemical transformations. For relevant guidance, see Reaction & Applications and Storage & Reconstitution.

Target Specificity

Not applicable. This product is not an antibody or affinity reagent. It is a general-purpose marine microbiology medium designed to support a broad range of heterotrophic marine and estuarine bacteria without species specificity unless modified.