HiCulture™ Transport Swabs w/ Amies Medium w/o Charcoal

Principle And Interpretation

Transport medium is necessarily and should be non-nutrient, semisolid, reductive medium which hampers the self destructive enzymatic reactions within the cells and also inhibits toxic oxidation effects. Transport Medium, Amies without Charcoal was formulated by Amies (1) by modifying Cary and Blair's medium (2) for transporting microbiological specimens. Amies transport medium is a modification of Stuarts Transport Medium, in which glycerophosphate is replaced by inorganic phosphate buffer. This prevents problem of overgrowth of contaminating organisms while carrying faecal specimens containing Shigellae which derive energy from glycerophosphate. Calcium and magnesium salts control the permeability of bacterial cells (1). Presence of sodium thioglycollate and small a mounts of agar provide a reduced environment (3). Sterile cotton swabs allow absorption of specimen material while polypropylene shaft allows semiflexibility to the swab stick, aiding in collection.