Culture Media: Classification, Types, and Relevance

What Is Culture Media?

Culture media are mediums that provide essential nutrients and minerals to support the growth of microorganisms in the laboratory.

Microorganisms have varying nature, characteristics, habitat, and even nutritional requirements, thus it is impossible to culture them with one type of culture media. However, there are also microorganisms that can’t grow on a culture media at all in any condition – these are called obligate parasites.^[1]

Culturing microorganisms is essential for diagnosing infectious diseases, obtaining antigens, developing serological assays for vaccines, genetic studies, and identification of microbial species.^[1]

Furthermore, it’s also essential for isolating pure cultures, storing culture stock, studying biochemical reactions, testing microbial contamination, checking antimicrobial agents and preservatives effect, testing viable count, and testing antibiotic sensitivity.^[2]

This article will focus on the composition, classification, and types of culture media used in microbiology labs to study a spectrum of microbial forms.

Classification and Types of Culture Media

Growing microorganisms in the lab involve mimicking the organisms’ natural habitat or environment, and this is possible in the laboratory by formulating culture media that meets their requirements. Therefore, many culture media were developed by scientists according to the microbial species to be cultured.

The basic media contains a source of carbon & energy, nitrogen source, growth factors, and some trace elements.^[1] Some commonly used media components include peptone, agar, water, casein hydrolysate, malt extract, meat extract, and yeast extract. In addition, the pH of the medium should be set accordingly.^[3]

However, some additional components or nutrients are added to the media when growing specific microorganisms.

Culture media can be classified in three ways: based on their consistency, nutritional component, and applications.^[1]

A. Classification of culture media based on consistency

1. Solid media: In these media, the agar which is an unbranched long chain of polysaccharides is added in the concentration of 1.5-2.0%. Most commonly, 1.3% agar is used to prepare solid media in labs. The agar-containing media solidifies at 37 ºC.^[1]
   Sometimes, in the place of agar, some other inert solidifying agents are used, such as gellan gum.

   Solid media are used to grow microorganisms in their full physical form, prepare bacterial pure cultures, or isolate bacteria to study colony characteristics.^[1]

   The bacterial growth on solid media varies in appearance as mucoid, round, smooth, rough, filamentous, irregular, and punctiform.

   The media is not hydrolyzed by microorganisms and is free from growth-inhibiting substances.^[3]

   Examples of solid media are blood agar, nutrient agar, McConkey agar, and chocolate agar.

2. Semisolid media: This media has 0.2-0.5% agar concentration, and due to the reduced agar concentration, it appears as a soft, jelly-like substance.
   It’s mainly used to study the motility of microorganisms, distinguish between motile and non-motile bacterial strains (through U-tube and Cragie’s tube), and cultivate microaerophilic bacteria – bacteria on this media appear as a thick line.
   Examples of semi-solid media are: Hugh and Leifson’s oxidation fermentation medium, Stuart’s and Amies media, and Mannitol motility media.^[1]
3. Liquid media: These media do not contain any traces of solidifying agents, such as agar or gelatin, and large growth of bacterial colonies can be observed in the media.
   Liquid media are also called broths, they allow for uniform and turbid growth of bacterial strains when incubated at 37ºC for 24hrs.
   The media is used for the profuse growth of microorganisms and fermentation studies. Examples include Tryptic soy broth, phenol red carbohydrate broth, MR-VP broth, and nutrient broth.

Other than these, there are also biphasic media, which consist of both solid and liquid media. And sometimes in the place of agar, egg yolk and serum are added to the media as a solidifying agent.^[3] Learn more on how to make agar plates here.

While naturally, these substances are liquid, they are solidified by using heat, and the prepared media is sterilized using the inspissation technique. Examples are Lowenstein Jensen medium and Dorset egg medium, which contain egg yolk, and Loeffler’s serum slope, which contain serum.^[3]

B. Classification based on the nutritional component

1. Simple media: It’s a general-purpose media that supports the growth of non-fastidious microbes, and it is primarily used for the isolation of microorganisms. Examples are nutrient broth, peptone water, and nutrient agar.
2. Complex media: These are media containing nutrients in unknown quantities that are added to bring about a particular characteristic of a microbial strain. Examples are tryptic soy broth, blood agar, and nutrient broth.
3. Synthetic media: Synthetic media is a type of chemically defined media and is produced from pure chemical substances. A defined media refers to a medium having a known concentration of ingredients, like sugar (glucose or glycerol) and nitrogen source (such as ammonium salt or nitrate as inorganic nitrogen). It is generally used in scientific research, and an example is Czapek Dox Medium.^[1]

C. Classification of culture media based on application/chemical composition

• Basal media: These are routinely used simple media having carbon and nitrogen sources that boost the growth of many microorganisms. They are also known as general-purpose media and are considered non-selective media.

  The basal media do not require enrichment sources for the growth of non-fastidious bacteria and are suitable for growing Staphylococcus and Enterobacteriaceae.^[1]

  They are generally used to isolate microorganisms in labs or in sub-culturing processes. Examples are nutrient broth, nutrient agar, and peptone water.

• Enriched media: This media is prepared by adding additional substances like blood, serum, or egg yolk in the basal medium. It’s used to grow fastidious microorganisms as they require additional nutrients and growth-promoting substances.

  Examples are chocolate agar, blood agar, and Loeffler’s serum slope. Chocolate media is used to grow N. gonorrhea while blood agar (which is prepared by adding 5-10% blood by volume to a blood agar base) is used to identify hemolytic bacteria.^[2]

• Selective media: This media allows the growth of certain microbes while inhibiting the growth of others. It’s an agar-based medium that is used to isolate microorganisms in labs.

  The selective growth of microbes is decided by adding substances like antibiotics, dyes, bile salts, or by pH adjustments.

  Below is a list of common selective media and the bacteria they’re used to culture:^[2]

Content

1

Thayer Martin Agar

Contains antibiotics; vancomycin, colistin, and nystatin

Used for Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Content

2

MacConkey’s Agar

Contains bile salts

Used for Enterobacteriaceae members

Content

3

Lowenstein Jensen Medium

Addition of malachite green

Used for M.tuberculosis

Content

4

Mannitol Salt Agar

Contains 10% NaCl

Used to recover S.aureus

Content

5

Crystal Violet Blood Agar

Contains 0.0002% crystal violet

Used for Streptococcus pyogenes

Content

6

Thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar

Have elevated pH of about 8.5-8.6

Used for isolating Vibrio cholerae

Content

7

Wilson and Blair’s Agar

Addition of dye brilliant green

Used for recovering S. typhi

Content

8

Potassium tellurite medium

Contains 0.04% Potassium tellurite

Used to recover C.diphtheriae

Content

9

Pseudosel Agar (cetrimide agar)

Contains cetrimide (antiseptic agent)

Used to recover Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Content

10

Salmonella-Shigella Agar

Contains bile salts, brilliant green, and sodium citrate

Used for the isolation of Salmonella, which causes typhoid

• Enrichment media: It’s a liquid medium, used to increase the relative concentration of certain microbes before culturing them on a solid medium plate. It’s used as a broth medium and inhibits the growth of commensal species of microorganisms (those who live in close association with each other) in the clinical specimen.
  It’s also used in isolating fecal and soil microorganisms. Examples are selenite F broth which is used to isolate Salmonella typhi from a fecal sample, tetrathionate broth, and alkaline peptone water.^[1]
• Differential or indicator media: It contains certain indicators like dyes or metabolic substrates in the medium composition which gives different colors to colonies of different microbial species when they utilize or react with these components.

  It allows the growth of more than one microorganism, however, the bacterial colonies are differentiated based on their color when a chemical change occurs in the indicator, such as neutral red, phenol red, methylene blue.

  Examples are:^[1]

  • Blood agar: In blood agar, three types of blood cell lysis or hemolysis are observed: alpha, beta, and gamma hemolysis.^[5] It allows the growth of many microorganisms, however, their ability to lyse blood cells differs, and this helps to distinguish the bacterial colonies.
    For example, S. pyogenes completely lyse blood cells (beta hemolysis), thus causing total clearing of the media around its colonies. S. pneumoniae partially lyse red blood cells, resulting in a greenish-colored medium, while gamma hemolytic microorganisms like Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis, can’t lyse red blood cells, thus causing no color change in the medium.^[6]
  • Mannitol salts agar: The fermentation of mannitol by Staphylococcus aureus causes the media to change to yellow, however, coagulase-negative staphylococci that can’t cause fermentation to appear in pink.^[7]
  • MacConkey agar: It differentiates the gram-negative bacteria based on their lactose metabolism. The lactose fermenting bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Citrobacter, and Enterobacter forms pink-red colonies, while lactose non-fermenters, like Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus, Providencia, Pseudomonas, and Morganella form pale or colorless colonies.^[8]
  • Thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar: The media contain sucrose, which is utilized by ferment microbes and helps to distinguish them from non-ferment microorganisms. Based on this characteristic, different colored bacterial colonies are formed on the media that help to identify and distinguish them from each other.
    For example, V. cholerae ferment the sucrose and form slightly flattened yellow colonies having opaque centers and translucent peripheries. Whereas, V. parahaemolyticus can’t ferment the sucrose and forms green to blue-green colonies.^[9]
• Transport media: Transport media are useful for clinical specimens which are required to be transferred immediately to labs to maintain the viability of potential pathogens and to prevent overgrowth of commensals or contaminating microorganisms. Some of them are semi-solid in consistency, and examples include:
  • Sach’s buffered glycerol saline: It’s used to transport feces from patients suspected to be suffering from bacillary dysentery.
  • Cary Blair transport and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan media: Fecal samples collected from suspected cholera patients are transported using these media.
  • Pike’s medium: A throat specimen containing Streptococci is transported using this medium.^[2]
• Anaerobic media: This media is for anaerobic bacteria which require low oxygen levels, extra nutrients, and reduced oxidation-reduction potential. It is supplemented with hemin and vitamin K nutrients and oxygen is removed by boiling it in a water bath and sealing it with paraffin film.^[2]

  Examples are: Thioglycollate broth and Robertson Cooked Meat (RCM) medium which is commonly used to grow Clostridium spp.^[2]

• Assay media: It’s used for amino acids, vitamins, and antibiotics assays. For example, antibiotic assay media is used to determine the antibiotic potency of microorganisms.
• Storage media: It’s used to store microorganisms for a longer period, examples are chalk cooked meat broth and egg saline medium.^[2]

Laboratory Preparation of Culture Media: Step-by-Step Protocols

Preparing culture media in the laboratory requires careful attention to formulation, sterilization, and quality control. Below are standard protocols for three of the most commonly used media types, along with the equipment needed at each step.

General Preparation Workflow

Regardless of the specific medium, the preparation follows a consistent sequence:

1. Weigh and dissolve — Measure dehydrated media powder on an analytical balance and dissolve in distilled water according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
2. Adjust pH — Use a calibrated pH meter to verify the pH is within the required range (typically 7.2–7.4 for most bacteriological media). Adjust with 1N NaOH or 1N HCl as needed.
3. Sterilize by autoclaving — Transfer to appropriate containers and sterilize in a laboratory autoclave at 121°C (15 psi) for 15 minutes. Do not autoclave media containing heat-sensitive components (e.g., blood, serum, urea) — these are added aseptically after autoclaving.
4. Cool and pour — Allow the medium to cool to approximately 45–50°C (warm to the touch but not hot enough to kill cells). Pour approximately 20–25 mL into each sterile Petri dish near a flame or in a laminar flow hood.
5. Quality control — Incubate 2–3 uninoculated plates from each batch overnight in a laboratory incubator at 37°C. If any colonies appear, the batch is contaminated and must be discarded.

Protocol 1: Nutrient Agar (General-Purpose Solid Medium)

Nutrient agar is the default medium for routine cultivation of non-fastidious bacteria. It supports a broad range of organisms and is used for initial isolation, colony counting, and maintenance cultures.

Component	Amount per Liter
Peptone	5.0 g
Beef extract	3.0 g
Sodium chloride (NaCl)	5.0 g
Agar	15.0 g
Distilled water	1000 mL

Procedure: Suspend 28 g of dehydrated nutrient agar in 1 L of distilled water. Heat with frequent agitation until the agar dissolves completely. Adjust pH to 7.4 ± 0.2. Autoclave at 121°C for 15 min. Cool to 45–50°C and pour into Petri dishes. Final medium should be clear to slightly opalescent and amber in color.

Protocol 2: MacConkey Agar (Selective & Differential Medium)

MacConkey agar selects for Gram-negative bacteria while differentiating lactose fermenters (pink-red colonies) from non-fermenters (colorless colonies). It is indispensable in clinical microbiology for identifying enteric pathogens.

Component	Amount per Liter
Peptone	17.0 g
Proteose peptone	3.0 g
Lactose	10.0 g
Bile salts No. 3	1.5 g
Sodium chloride	5.0 g
Neutral red	0.03 g
Crystal violet	0.001 g
Agar	13.5 g
Distilled water	1000 mL

Procedure: Suspend 50 g of dehydrated MacConkey agar in 1 L of distilled water. Heat to boiling with frequent stirring until completely dissolved. Adjust pH to 7.1 ± 0.2. Autoclave at 121°C for 15 min. Cool to 45–50°C and pour plates. The final medium is pink-red and opaque due to the bile salts and crystal violet.

Protocol 3: Blood Agar (Enriched & Differential Medium)

Blood agar supports the growth of fastidious organisms and allows differentiation based on hemolytic patterns (α, β, or γ hemolysis). It is one of the most commonly used primary plating media in clinical laboratories.

Procedure: Prepare nutrient agar base as described above. After autoclaving, cool the molten agar to 45–50°C. Aseptically add 5–10% (v/v) defibrinated sheep blood and mix gently — avoid vigorous swirling, which causes foaming and introduces air bubbles. Pour immediately into Petri dishes. The final medium should be opaque and deep red. Store plates inverted at 4°C for up to 2 weeks.

Critical note: Blood must never be added to media above 50°C, as heat will lyse the red blood cells and produce “chocolate agar” (a different medium with different growth characteristics).

Equipment Checklist for Media Preparation

Setting up a media preparation station requires the following core equipment:

• Autoclave — for sterilization at 121°C / 15 psi
• pH meter — for verifying and adjusting media pH
• Incubator — for quality control and bacterial cultivation
• Sterile Petri dishes — for plating solid media
• Analytical balance — for weighing media components
• Anaerobic jar — for culturing obligate anaerobes

Choosing Culture Media for Your Research: A Decision Guide

With dozens of culture media formulations available, selecting the right one depends on three factors: your research objective, the target organism, and whether you need selection, differentiation, or both.

Decision Matrix: Research Goal → Media Type → Required Equipment

Research Goal	Recommended Media	Why This Media	Equipment Needed
Initial isolation from a clinical specimen	Blood agar + MacConkey agar	Blood agar grows fastidious organisms; MacConkey selects Gram-negatives and differentiates lactose fermenters	Autoclave, incubator (37°C)
Isolating a specific pathogen from mixed flora	Selective media (e.g., TCBS for Vibrio, XLD for Salmonella)	Selective agents suppress competing organisms	Autoclave, incubator, pH meter (critical for TCBS at pH 8.6)
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST)	Mueller-Hinton agar	Standardized by CLSI/EUCAST for reproducible disk diffusion and MIC testing	Autoclave, incubator, 150mm Petri dishes
Enrichment before plating	Selenite F broth (Salmonella), alkaline peptone water (Vibrio)	Increases target organism concentration in specimens with low pathogen counts	Autoclave, shaking incubator
Studying anaerobic bacteria	Thioglycollate broth, Robertson cooked meat medium	Reduced oxygen environment supports obligate anaerobes	Autoclave, anaerobic jar with gas pack
Food safety pathogen screening	Chromogenic agars (CHROMagar, Brilliance)	Color-coded colonies allow rapid visual identification without confirmatory tests	Autoclave, incubator, colony counter
Maintaining stock cultures	Nutrient agar slants, chalk cooked meat broth	Minimal nutrient formulations slow metabolism and extend viability	Autoclave, refrigerator (4°C)

Media Comparison: Cost, Preparation Time, and Shelf Life

Media Type	Relative Cost	Preparation Time	Shelf Life (stored at 4°C)	Complexity
Nutrient agar	Low	45–60 min	2–4 weeks	Beginner-friendly
MacConkey agar	Low–Medium	45–60 min	2–4 weeks	Beginner-friendly
Blood agar	Medium	60–90 min	1–2 weeks	Intermediate (aseptic blood addition)
Chocolate agar	Medium	60–90 min	1–2 weeks	Intermediate
Mueller-Hinton agar	Medium	45–60 min	2–4 weeks	Beginner-friendly
Chromogenic agars	High	30–45 min (usually pre-made)	4–8 weeks (commercial plates)	Minimal prep
Thioglycollate broth	Low	45–60 min	2–4 weeks	Beginner-friendly
Lowenstein-Jensen	Medium–High	2–3 hours (inspissation)	4–8 weeks	Advanced (coagulation step)

Common Preparation Pitfalls

• Overheating agar: Repeated remelting degrades the gel strength. Melt agar once and hold in a 45–50°C water bath until ready to pour.
• Incorrect pH: Even 0.5 pH units outside the specified range can inhibit target organisms or allow contaminants to grow. Always verify pH after autoclaving, as heat can shift pH slightly.
• Insufficient mixing: Uneven distribution of selective agents (bile salts, antibiotics) creates zones of variable selectivity on the same plate.
• Adding supplements too hot: Blood, serum, vitamins, and antibiotics are heat-labile. Always cool the base medium to 45–50°C before supplementation.
• Contaminated water: Use freshly distilled or deionized water. Tap water introduces ions and chlorine that inhibit bacterial growth and alter media chemistry.

Recent Research Applications of Culture Media (2021–2025)

Culture media remain central to scientific breakthroughs across clinical microbiology, food safety, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and regenerative medicine. Below are notable recent studies demonstrating how culture media formulation directly impacts research outcomes.

1. Rapid H. pylori Resistance Detection via Chromogenic Media

Guan AX, Yang SY, Wu T, et al. “Novel chromogenic medium-based method for the rapid detection of Helicobacter pylori drug resistance.” World J Gastroenterol. 2025;31(32):106424. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i32.106424

Developed a modified Colombia agar with urea and phenol red that detects antibiotic-resistant H. pylori through a visible yellow-to-pink color change in 28–36 hours — cutting the conventional 11-day detection protocol by over 85%. Achieved a 90.5% detection rate with 95.5% agreement versus standard microdilution across 201 clinical isolates.

2. Chromogenic Agar Blind Spots in Novel Carbapenemase Detection

Hernández-García M, Castillo-Polo JA, Cordero DG, et al. “Impact of Ceftazidime-Avibactam Treatment in the Emergence of Novel KPC Variants.” J Clin Microbiol. 2022;60(3):e0224521. DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02245-21

Novel KPC carbapenemase variants (KPC-46, KPC-66, KPC-92) emerging under ceftazidime-avibactam therapy were completely undetectable on ChromID-CARBA chromogenic agar, though they grew on ChromID-ESBL plates. Only molecular and immunochromatographic methods caught all variants — highlighting a critical detection gap in standard chromogenic screening protocols.

3. Point-of-Care Chromogenic Systems for UTI Diagnosis in Resource-Limited Settings

Olaru ID, Elamin W, Chisenga M, et al. “Evaluation of the InTray and Compact Dry culture systems for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections.” Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2021;40(12):2543–2550. DOI: 10.1007/s10096-021-04312-4

Evaluated self-contained chromogenic culture devices at primary care clinics in Zimbabwe. Compact Dry achieved 95.2% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity for Enterobacterales, demonstrating that shelf-stable, pre-made chromogenic media can decentralize antimicrobial resistance surveillance beyond hospital reference laboratories.

4. Novel Selective Enrichment Broth for Emerging Foodborne E. albertii

Hirose S, Nakamura Y, Arai S, Hara-Kudo Y. “The Development and Evaluation of a Selective Enrichment for the Detection of Escherichia albertii in Food.” Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2022;19(10):704–712. DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2022.0048

Developed CT-mEC, a selective enrichment broth (modified EC broth with cefixime and tellurite) for the emerging pathogen E. albertii. During an actual outbreak investigation, CT-mEC successfully isolated the pathogen from a food sample where standard buffered peptone water and unmodified EC broth both failed entirely.

5. Microbial Antagonism Undermines Standard Food Enrichment Culture

McMahon TC, Kingombe CB, Mathews A, et al. “Microbial Antagonism in Food-Enrichment Culture: Inhibition of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Shigella Species.” Front Microbiol. 2022;13:880043. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.880043

Screened 200 bacterial strains across 332 food-enrichment broths and found that 11.5% of food microbiota strains produced bacteriocins or bacteriophages that actively inhibited STEC and Shigella growth during standard enrichment — a fundamental, underappreciated failure mode of enrichment culture in food safety testing.

6. Viable-but-Nonculturable Salmonella: The Biological Limits of Culture Media

Jayeola V, Farber JM, Kathariou S. “Induction of the Viable-but-Nonculturable State in Salmonella Contaminating Dried Fruit.” Appl Environ Microbiol. 2022;88(2):e0173321. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01733-21

Demonstrated that desiccation stress on dried fruit drives 56–85% of Salmonella cells into a viable-but-nonculturable (VBNC) state, completely undetectable on any growth media even after enrichment. By day 46, zero colonies grew despite massive viable populations confirmed by fluorescence microscopy — a stark illustration that culture media alone cannot capture all viable pathogens.

7. Cost-Effective Defined Media for Stem Cell and Organoid Culture

Truszkowski L, Bottini S, Bianchi S, et al. “Refined and benchmarked homemade media for cost-effective, weekend-free human pluripotent stem cell culture.” Open Res Eur. 2025;4:192. DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.18245.2

Developed open-source, chemically defined stem cell media (hE8 and B8+) benchmarked against commercial Essential 8 for genome editing, single-cell cloning, and organoid differentiation. The homemade formulations performed comparably at a fraction of the cost, though subtle composition differences between “equivalent” formulations profoundly influenced cell behavior — underscoring the importance of media selection in cell culture experiments.

Conclusion

Culture media are foundational tools in microbiology, enabling everything from routine clinical diagnostics to cutting-edge research in antimicrobial resistance, food safety, and regenerative medicine. Understanding the classification, preparation, and selection of culture media is essential for any laboratory working with microorganisms.

As this article demonstrates, the field is far from static. Recent advances in chromogenic media, point-of-care culture systems, and chemically defined stem cell media continue to expand what is possible in the laboratory. At the same time, fundamental challenges like viable-but-nonculturable organisms and microbial antagonism during enrichment remind us that culture-based methods have inherent limitations that researchers must account for in their experimental design.

For laboratories setting up or expanding their microbiology capabilities, ConductScience offers a complete range of autoclaves, incubators, pH meters, and sterile Petri dishes needed for professional media preparation and microbial cultivation.

References

1. Tankeshwar Acharya (2021). Bacterial Culture Media: Classification, Types, Uses. Microbe Online.
2. Fatima Aiman (2022). Microbial Culture Media- Definition, Types, Examples, Uses. Microbe Notes.
3. Rao Sridhar. Bacterial Culture Media. University of Mysore.
4. Aryal Sagar (2022). Salmonella Shigella (SS) Agar. Microbe Notes.
5. Tankeshwar Acharya (2021). Blood Agar and Types of Hemolysis. Microbe Online.
6. Guan AX, et al. Novel chromogenic medium-based method for rapid detection of H. pylori drug resistance. World J Gastroenterol. 2025;31(32):106424. DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i32.106424
7. Hernandez-Garcia M, et al. Emergence of Novel KPC Variants. J Clin Microbiol. 2022;60(3):e0224521. DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02245-21
8. Olaru ID, et al. InTray and Compact Dry culture systems for UTI diagnosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2021;40(12):2543-2550. DOI: 10.1007/s10096-021-04312-4
9. Hirose S, et al. Selective Enrichment for E. albertii in Food. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2022;19(10):704-712. DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2022.0048
10. McMahon TC, et al. Microbial Antagonism in Food-Enrichment Culture. Front Microbiol. 2022;13:880043. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.880043
11. Jayeola V, et al. VBNC State in Salmonella on Dried Fruit. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2022;88(2):e0173321. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01733-21
12. Truszkowski L, et al. Homemade media for human pluripotent stem cell culture. Open Res Eur. 2025;4:192. DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.18245.2