Enterotube II

There are many different tests one can perform in a microbiology laboratory. Quality assurance and quality control laboratories run a series of different diagnostic tests to determine the amount of bacteria on a finished product or the % of a bacterial culture destroyed over time. The Enterotube II system developed by BD is a rapid multi test system designed to test for bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae family. This test allows one to determine an unknown species. The Enterotube is a plastic tube which contains 12 compartments. Each compartment contains a different type of agar that may change depending on the metabolic requirements the bacteria. There is a metal wire that goes through the center of each compartment. One takes the wire and touches it to the unknown bacteria pushes the wire through every compartment, inoculating the Enterotube. The first compartment tests for glucose consumption as well as the production of gas. There is a wax layer beneath the agar that becomes separated if the bacteria produce gas. Nalge Nunc and BD Falcon also make products used in microbiology research.