Wooden sticks for plaque streaking and microbiological inoculation might be more cost- effective, but is its large scale use feasible? Quality control methods and proof of concept

Abstract The loop is a material classically used in the laboratory for the purpose of plate streaking and handling biological materials. However, metal loops techniques might be time consuming, considering the amount of time spent to guarantee its cooling process through each inoculation. Furthermor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. M. Castro e Silva, N. S. Adiwardana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Internacional de Ecologia 2021-06-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842022000100186&tlng=en
Description
Summary:Abstract The loop is a material classically used in the laboratory for the purpose of plate streaking and handling biological materials. However, metal loops techniques might be time consuming, considering the amount of time spent to guarantee its cooling process through each inoculation. Furthermore, plastic loops may also represent environmental issues during its production and discard process and can also represent higher costs for the laboratory. Thus, in situations of limited resources, even the simplest materials can be restricted due to logistical and budgetary issues, especially in developing countries. Inspired by demands like these, facing an occasional shortage of supply of laboratory plastic handles, we hereby present a quality control for sterilization methods and cost-effectiveness studies towards the use of wooden sticks in a Latin American country and we discuss the possibility of the large-scale use of this technique.
ISSN:1678-4375