Instruments used specially in microbiology include:
Instrument list
| Instrument | Uses |
|---|---|
| Autoclave | used for sterilization of glass ware and media |
| Auto-destruct syringes | specimen collection |
| Bijou bottle | a cylindrical small glass bottle with a screw cap used as a culture medium holder |
| Biosafety cabinet | used to work with dangerous organisms and to work sterile |
| Blood collection bottle | to collect blood by venipuncture |
| Brittany | a process of sterilization from spore-bearing bacteria |
| Bunsen burner | used to work aseptic on the benc |
| Candle jar | historically used for anaerobiosis; a lit candle was placed in as air-tight jar such that when it went out it would be because it used up all the available oxygen |
| Castaneda's medium / Castaneda's bottle | used for simultaneous solid and liquid cultures in many bottles |
| Centrifuge | to separate supernatant & pellet |
| Cragie tube | see link |
| Desiccator | to dry things |
| Durham's tube | used to detect gas production in sugar fermentation media; the tube is placed in an inverted fashion so that gases produced get trapped in it and do not float away to the surface |
| Gas-pak | releases gases to remove oxygen from a closed container, usually for anaerobiosis |
| Glass slide | used to observe specimens under microscope |
| Haemagglutination plate | for viral culture detection |
| Hungate Anaerobic tubes | for culturing of anaerobic microbes |
| Incubator | used for bacterial or fungal cultures |
| Inoculation loop: | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc. Sterilized by passing through a blue flame. |
| Laminar flow cabinet | used to work aseptic |
| Latex agglutination tiles | for serological analysis |
| Lovibond comparator | a type of a colorimeter |
| McCartney's bottle or Flat medical bottle | for simultaneous solid and liquid cultures. |
| McIntosh and Filde's anaerobic jar | production of anaerobic conditions for organisms that die in the presence of even little oxygen (anaerobiosis), e.g. tetanus bacteria |
| Microscope | to observe microscopic specimens that cannot be seen by the naked eye. |
| Microtitre plates | mostly used for ELISA |
| Microtome | cuts prepared specimens for analysis under microscope |
| Nichrome wire loop | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; sterilized by flaming to red hot before use |
| Petri dish/agar plate | to act as a supporting container to hold the culture medium in |
| Platinum wire loop | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; sterilized by flaming to red hot before use |
| Pre-sterilized disposable container | specimen collection |
| Pre-sterilized disposable swabs / NIH swab / postnasal swab | specimen collection |
| Pre-sterilized disposable syringe / auto-destruct syringes | specimen collection |
| Roux culture bottle | Bottle designed to use laying flat, useful for growing mass cultures and single or monolayer cultures. |
| Serological test slides like those for ASO, VDRL, rheumatoid factor | provide links |
| Specimen Dish | used to hold specimen or samples |
| Sterile loops | used to inoculate test samples into culture media for bacterial or fungal cultures, antibiograms, etc.; not heated before use—these are disposable pre-sterilised |
| Thermal cycler | used to amplify segments of DNA via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. |
| Tissue culture bottles | to grow or keep alive cells or tissue from a living organism, e.g. stem cells |
| Tuberculin syringe | as a normal syringe or to perform Mantoux test |
| ULT freezer | to freeze and storage of specimens |
| Universal container | a cylindrical small glass bottle with a screw cap used as a culture medium holder |
| Vaccine bath | used to heat vaccine containing medium gently to around 45-55 degrees Celsius during vaccine production |
| Vacuum pump | to draw out the air from any closed chamber before pumping back CO2, O2 or N2, usually for anaerobiosis |
| VDRL rotator | for VDRL test |
| (Laboratory) Water bath | to incubate specimens or samples |
As well as those "used in microbiological sterilization and disinfection" (see relevant section).
Image gallery
An inoculation loop is used to transfer bacteria for microbiological culture.
Petri dish
Agar plate
Tuberculin syringe
Candle jar
