All About Petri Dish & Uses

By: Mike Kirsten

Petri Dish & Uses

12 October 2010- Petri dish is one of the most important laboratory consumable products used in biological laboratories. Petri dish is made of either glass or transparent plastic. It is a shallow cylindrical dish mainly used to culture cells.

It was named after a German bacteriologist Julius Petri, who invented it during working as an assistant to Robert Koch. Petri dishes made of glass can be used again and again by sterilization while the plastic petri dishes once used can't be used again. They must be disposed of after one use.

Petri dishes are usullay filled with a growth medium made of agar. Agar is a gelatinous substance made  with extracts from red algae and various nutrients. The nutrients added might vary according to the need of the organism being cultured.

Uses of Petri Dishes

• The primary use of petri dish in a laboratory is to culture cells.
• Petri dishes are used in schools and colleges to teach students about the seed germination. The transparent material of the petri dish helps students to observe every step of growth of seed.
• The size of petri dish is perfect to be placed under a microscope so it is also used for dissection.
• In laboratories, petri dishes can be used for basic experimental purposes such as transferring liquids in sterile containers for study.

Several other uses of petri dishes, as laboratory consumable products, are being explored by scientists around the world. In coming time its use is not going to be on hold or detoriate. Petri dishes have been helpful in exploring different aspects of science, such as understanding viruses, growing cells integrated with electronic circuits, etc. It is quite possible that in near future other methods of studying organisms in lab be developed but the basic need to culture organism in a sterile environment will never end and so the use of petri dishes.

About the Author

I am a laboratory analyst by profession working in this industry from last 10 years.I have been running a site www.laboratoryequipmentworld.com on laboratory equipments. It includes the largest range of laboratory apparatus and other updated info on market, trade fairs, news, etc.

(ArticlesBase SC #645734)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - All About Petri Dish & Uses