WL Nutrient Broth - BioReagent

Cat. No.: W1528316

GRADE & PURITY BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Shipped In

Normal

Overview

For the cultivation of yeasts and bacteria in beer and fermented products

Specifications

Specifications & Purity

BioReagent

Storage

Room temperature

Shipped In

Normal

Grade

BioReagent

Product Line

Biological Products

Application Protocols

General workflows (literature guidance; adapt to your SOPs). Not item-specific.

A. Preparation of WL Nutrient Broth

• Weigh the manufacturer-recommended grams per liter (see label/CoA).
• Add to ~80% of final water volume with stirring; warm if needed to dissolve.
• Adjust pH to target (e.g., ~6.5) if required.
• Bring to volume; dispense into flasks/tubes.
• Sterilize by autoclaving (121 C, 15–20 min). Cool to room temperature. If adding heat-labile supplements (e.g., antibiotics/antifungals), sterile-filter and add aseptically.

B. Enrichment of brewery samples

• Inoculate 1–10% (v/v) of sample (beer/wort/rinse) into sterile WL broth.
• Incubate 22–30 C, 24–72 h depending on target organisms.
• Monitor turbidity and color shift. For isolation, streak onto WL Nutrient Agar and incubate further.

C. Yeast propagation prior to analysis

• Inoculate a single colony into 10–50 mL WL broth; shake at 150–200 rpm, 25–30 C for 18–24 h.
• Measure OD600; proceed to biochemical tests or DNA extraction.

Controls and QC

• Include sterile medium controls and known positive strains to verify growth-promotion performance.

Exact concentrations, supplements, and incubation times for this item: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Biological Roles

WL Nutrient Broth does not have intrinsic biological activity; rather, it provides nutrients and physicochemical conditions that support microbial metabolism (literature):

• Carbon/energy: Readily metabolizable carbohydrates (e.g., glucose in typical WL formulations) feed glycolysis and fermentation pathways, yielding ethanol/organic acids that shift pH (visualized by indicator dye).
• Nitrogen/sulfur: Peptones/yeast extract supply amino acids, peptides, nucleotides, vitamins, and trace growth factors for biosynthesis and redox cofactor balance.
• Ionic/osmotic balance: Phosphate, potassium, magnesium, and other salts maintain osmolarity and provide essential cofactors for enzymes (e.g., ATP-dependent kinases, polymerases) and ribosome stability.
• Indicator function: Bromocresol green (literature for WL media) changes color with pH, linking metabolic acid production to a phenotypic readout.
• Selective/differential potential: With appropriate supplements (antibiotics/antifungals), the broth can be tuned to enrich desired microflora prior to plating.

Use context

• Particularly aligned with brewing/fermentation microbiology where acid production, ethanol tolerance, and sugar utilization patterns differentiate strains/species.

Buffer Applications

WL Nutrient Broth is not a defined buffering system; it is a complex culture medium. However, typical WL formulations contain phosphate and other salts that impart modest buffering capacity in the near-neutral range (literature).

Practical guidance

• If a narrow pH is critical (e.g., 6.4–6.6), adjust the reconstituted medium with sterile acid/base after sterilization (or adjust pre-autoclave anticipating minor drift), confirming pH at room temperature.
• For highly buffered conditions, consider supplementing with sterile phosphate or MOPS/HEPES buffers post-sterilization; verify organism tolerance.
• Indicator readout: The presence of a pH indicator allows qualitative tracking of acidification but should not replace pH meter verification for quantitative work.

Recipes and ranges

• Exact buffer concentrations for this item: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Green Alternatives

Environmental considerations for culture media focus on source materials, sterilization energy, and waste management rather than solvent replacement.

Opportunities (literature)

• Peptone/yeast-extract sourcing: Prefer plant-derived or sustainably produced nitrogen sources when performance allows; reduce reliance on animal byproducts.
• Energy use: Consolidate autoclave cycles and load efficiently; where validated, use membrane filtration to avoid heat sterilization for heat-stable but low-bioburden operations.
• Waste minimization: Scale media volumes to experimental need; decontaminate at lower temperature/longer time cycles when validated to reduce energy peak loads.
• Packaging: Choose larger pack sizes to reduce packaging waste if turnover is high; ensure desiccant recovery/reuse where feasible.

Trade-offs

• Plant-based peptones can alter growth performance; verification versus your strains is required.
• Filtration avoids heat but adds single-use plastics; life-cycle impact should be balanced with energy savings.

Comparison snapshot (literature)

• WL Broth vs. generic rich media (e.g., YPD): WL includes indicator and salts enabling differential readouts, potentially reducing additional tests, but may require similar sterilization energy.

Pharmaceutical Uses

No therapeutic or clinical use is intended. For research use only.

Relevant non-clinical/industrial contexts (literature)

• Environmental monitoring and in-process control in fermentation-based manufacturing (e.g., enzyme, amino acid, or probiotic production) where detection of contamination by yeasts/bacteria is required.
• Raw material/utility water testing in beverage industries to assess microbial load and acid-producing organisms via indicator color and turbidity.

Regulatory notes

• Pharmacopoeial status/specifications: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Not manufactured under GMP for clinical applications unless explicitly stated by supplier.

Formulation role

• Acts as a growth medium for enrichment prior to enumeration or identification using compendial or in-house methods.

Physical Properties

As a dehydrated culture medium, WL Nutrient Broth does not have single-compound constants. Key handling properties are solution-focused.

Item-specific values

• Appearance: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Bulk density, moisture content, particle size: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

General/literature properties (for prepared broth; not item-specific)

• Physical state (dehydrated): free-flowing powder; hygroscopic tendencies are common among media bases.
• Solubility: Readily soluble in water; prepare with high-purity water (Type II/III for routine microbiology; Type I if low-background analytics are needed).
• Typical working pH (at 25 C, after sterilization): ~6.3–6.8 (literature for WL media; may vary by supplier and lot).
• Color (solution): Yellow-green due to bromocresol green indicator (literature).
• Refractive index, logP, pKa, MP/BP: Not applicable for a mixture.

Practical notes

• Dissolution is facilitated by gradual addition to warm water with stirring to minimize clumping.
• Final pH can drift after autoclaving; verify and record pH post-sterilization if pH-sensitive work is planned.

Quality & Grades

• Grade: BioReagent
  • Meaning: Suitable for biological research applications, with attention to raw-material consistency and performance in culture systems. Not intended for human/animal use or therapeutic applications.
  • Implications: Batch-to-batch performance verification (growth promotion testing) is commonly performed for microbiological media at BioReagent grade (literature). UV/background absorbance or trace-metal specs are generally not primary control metrics for complex media.

Item-specific quality details

• Exact specification parameters (e.g., growth promotion organisms/criteria, moisture limits, sterility, indicator content): Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Stabilizers/preservatives: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Recommendations

• Request CoA for lot-resolved growth-promotion data (e.g., recovery of brewing yeasts/lactic acid bacteria) if your workflow is QC-critical.
• Record pH before and after sterilization; titratable acidity and dye response can serve as in-lab functional checks for indicator integrity.

Reaction & Applications

Applications (microbiology; literature-based, not item-specific)

• Cultivation and differentiation of brewing yeasts (Saccharomyces, non-Saccharomyces) and brewery-associated bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Acetobacter).
• Quality control in fermentation and beverage industries: detection, enumeration, and isolation from wort/beer, process water, and surfaces.
• Recovery of stressed or alcohol-tolerant organisms from beer matrices; indicator dye provides visual pH/readout of acid production.

Practical tips

• Reconstitution: Gradually add dehydrated medium to water with agitation to avoid clumping. Heat gently if needed for complete dissolution.
• Sterilization: Autoclave 121 C for 15–20 min (literature). Mix before dispensing to maintain homogeneity of indicator and salts.
• Supplements: Aseptically add selective agents post-sterilization as required by the method (e.g., antibiotics to suppress bacteria or antifungals to suppress yeasts; choices and concentrations depend on target organisms; literature).
• Incubation: Typical ranges 22–30 C for yeasts, 30–37 C for bacteria depending on species and method (literature). Aeration/shaking enhances growth of aerobes/Fac. anaerobes.
• Readouts: Turbidity (OD600), pH shift via indicator color, and plating on WL agar for colony morphology differentiation.

Compatibility

• Works as a pre-enrichment prior to selective/differential plating (e.g., WL Nutrient Agar) or molecular assays (qPCR) after biomass increase and DNA extraction.

Reaction Conditions

Here, “reaction conditions” are interpreted as preparation and incubation conditions for microbial cultivation. Values below are general literature guidance and not item-specific.

Preparation (broth)

• Concentration: Follow label directions. Typical complex broths are prepared at ~20–60 g/L depending on formulation; WL-specific amounts vary by supplier.
• Dissolution: Add powder slowly to water with stirring; warm (40–60 C) if necessary to dissolve fully. Bring to final volume after dissolution.
• pH: Adjust to ~6.3–6.8 at 25 C if required by method (literature for WL media). Expect minor drift after autoclaving.
• Sterilization: Autoclave at 121 C, 15 psi, 15–20 min. Alternatively, filter-sterilize (0.22 µm) if components are heat-labile.

Use

• Inoculation: 1–10% v/v inoculum for liquid cultures; for enrichment from surfaces or beverages, use appropriate sample volumes with neutralizers if disinfectants are present.
• Incubation: 22–30 C (yeasts/molds), 30–37 C (bacteria); static vs shaking per organism oxygen needs. Typical enrichment 18–48 h.
• Readouts: Turbidity, pH/indicator color, viable counts on WL agar or other differential media.

Expected outcomes

• Robust growth of brewing-associated organisms with visible acidification in acid-producing strains (literature). Exact growth performance for this item: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Safety & Handling

GHS classification and specific hazard statements are not provided for this item.

• Signal word: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet/SDS.
• H/P statements, pictograms: Not specified for this item; refer to SDS.

General laboratory safety (good practice for dehydrated culture media)

• PPE: Lab coat, safety glasses, and nitrile gloves. Avoid inhalation of dust; use local exhaust when weighing.
• Biological risk: Medium is non-sterile and will support microbial growth once reconstituted. Treat all used media and cultures as biohazardous; autoclave before disposal.
• Incompatibilities: Store away from strong oxidizers, acids/bases that could degrade indicator dyes/peptones, and moisture. Avoid prolonged light exposure to protect pH indicators (e.g., bromocresol green) from photodegradation (literature).
• First aid (overview; consult SDS): If inhaled, move to fresh air. If on skin/eyes, rinse with water for ≥15 min. If ingested, rinse mouth; seek medical attention as needed.
• Sterilization: Standard autoclave 121 C, 15 psi, 15–20 min for prepared solutions (literature). Let pressure equilibrate before opening.
• Spill response: Avoid raising dust; sweep with minimal agitation. For solutions, absorb with inert material; disinfect surfaces.

Always consult the SDS for authoritative safety guidance and institutional biosafety policies for culture work.

Solvent Selection

Not a reaction solvent. WL Nutrient Broth is intended to be dissolved in water to prepare culture medium.

Working solvent (literature guidance)

• Primary solvent: Deionized/distilled water.
• Water quality: Use microbiological-grade water. For sensitive analytical coupling (e.g., metabolomics on spent media), consider 0.2 µm filtration and Type I water to minimize background.
• Sterilization: Autoclave after dissolution. Alternatively, filter-sterilize through 0.22 µm membranes if the formulation is heat-sensitive (most WL components tolerate autoclaving; verify with supplier).

Miscibility/compatibility

• Alcohols/organics: Not typical. Small volumes of sterile supplements (e.g., antibiotics, dyes) in aqueous or aqueous-organic carriers may be added aseptically post-sterilization (literature).

Comparison (when to choose)

• WL media vs. general-purpose broths (e.g., YPD, Nutrient Broth): Choose WL when differentiation of brewing-related microflora and acid–base indication are desired; choose general media for routine high-biomass growth without differential indicators.

Storage & Reconstitution

Storage

• Storage conditions (item-specific): Room temperature (per Product Data). Protect from moisture, heat, and light. Keep container tightly closed with desiccant if provided.
• Shipping: Normal (per Product Data).
• Shelf life/expiry: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.

Reconstitution and use (literature guidance; not item-specific)

• Reconstitution: Dissolve the manufacturer-recommended mass of powder in purified water to the indicated volume. Mix until homogeneous.
• Sterilization: Autoclave at 121 C for 15–20 min or filter-sterilize (0.22 µm) if appropriate.
• Supplements: Add heat-labile components aseptically after cooling to <50 C.
• Storage of prepared medium: Short-term storage at 2–8 C in the dark is common; avoid freezing. Inspect for contamination, precipitation, or color changes before use.
• Freeze–thaw: Not applicable; avoid freezing prepared broth unless protocol specifically validates it.

Research use note

• For research use only (per Product Data). Not for diagnostic, therapeutic, or in vivo use.

Structure & Identity

WL Nutrient Broth is a complex, undefined microbiological medium formulated for cultivation and differentiation of brewing yeasts and bacteria (Wallerstein Laboratory, “WL”). It is a mixture, not a single compound.

• Compound type: Complex culture medium (mixture); not a discrete molecule.
• CAS: Not specified for this item; refer to CoA/Spec Sheet.
• Molecular formula: Not applicable (mixture).
• Molecular weight: Not applicable (mixture).
• SMILES: Not applicable (mixture).
• InChIKey: Not applicable (mixture).
• Structural features: The product typically contains peptides/amino acids (from peptones), carbohydrates (e.g., dextrose), minerals (phosphate, salts), and an acid–base indicator dye (literature), all in dehydrated form. No single 2D structure applies.

Notes (literature, not item-specific):

• “WL” media are historically used in brewing/fermentation QC; the broth is the agar-free analog of WL Nutrient Agar. Typical formulations include a peptone/yeast-extract nitrogen base, glucose as primary carbon source, phosphate buffer/salts, trace metals, and bromocresol green as a pH indicator.

Synthetic Utility

Not applicable to chemical synthesis. WL Nutrient Broth is a complex biological medium and is not used as a reagent for organic transformations.

Related laboratory utility (literature)

• Microbial biocatalysis: As a pre-culture medium to build biomass for cells later used as whole-cell catalysts (e.g., reduction/oxidation biotransformations). In such workflows, switch to defined production media to control byproducts once sufficient biomass is achieved.
• Strain screening: Differential growth/acidification can help triage isolates prior to detailed biochemical assays.

Target Specificity

Not an antibody or affinity reagent; no target specificity applies.

• Antigen/epitope/clone/isotype: Not applicable.
• Species reactivity: Not applicable.

Use instead: See Reaction & Applications and Application Protocols for organism classes commonly supported by WL media (literature).