Just to clear things up: this is NOT a tutorial. I just tried an experiment with gelatin since I didn't have agar agar at my disposal. If interested, I left a link in description for the procedure I used.
@THE.SALINAS.O.G. Right, those bacteria do exist and could’ve affected the cups. I’m assuming it was moreso user error because of the amount of cups that liquified. I was supposed to repeat this experiment with a higher concentration of gelatin and storing the cups in a better location - but it’s been two years and I just haven’t had the time lol
My first try at agar resulted in the exact same results. I pressure cooked the agar 45 min at 15 psi. I used parafilm to seal the agar plates . My recipe was 20 gram agar, 20 gram light malt extract, and .2 gram nutritional yeast and the right amount of filtered water. I watched a you tube "fresh from the farm fungi" video on this subject and what you and I each missed was putting our agar plates into an incubation chamber. I will build one of those next time!
Thanks for sharing! My goal was to make agar with common household products. I was thinking my gelatin ratio wasn’t concentrated enough. But, after watching your video suggestion, I agree that the incubation chamber would eliminate the issue we had. Thanks again, I am going to build one in the future as well!
@@yonimelanin9807 definitely keep me updated & let me know how things go! My bachelors is in biology, so now I'm getting the required courses to be eligible for ascp
@@domilarae hi there what is ascp ?… My bachelors is in accounting but I have been recently having thoughts of changing my career path and been looking at lab technology how would you guide me a person who never did sciences (just a little Intro chemistry and intro human and social biology high school level) to get into this field of study ?
I imagine some of the molds, possibly some of the bacteria, were producing proteolytic (protease) enzymes, and that broke down the gelatin, since it's just chains of proteins. I can't think of any other reason why it would liquefy like that. Interesting experiment though. I came to YT to specifically look to see if anyone had been using gelatin as an agar substitute and what might happen. Also, it seems that NaCl (table salt) can reduce gel-strength in gelatin hydrogels. So that could also play a role, since there is probably some NaCl in the beef stock. So I was gonna suggest using carrageenan instead, but price wise it's essentially the same price as agar.
I agree, gelatinase definitely makes sense after the post 24-hr mark. There were a few cups that started to melt right after I pulled them out of the fridge. I think I diluted the gelatin during transfer (I stretched it really far to make extra cups lol). I went with beef broth since my store didn't have yeast extract alone. I'm gonna try gelatin again, just in case it was my prep work 😂
Thank you. I just purchased my eleven year old a microscope and she seemed unimpressed. I want to do some cultures with her to get the ball rolling. since the local groceries don't sell agar i needed some inspiration. 🥰
That’s awesome! Good luck with the diy project. Here’s another idea if you have some blank microscope slides with cover slips. Grab a sample of water (pond, lake, river, ocean) and view a drop under the microscope - many different organisms just in a single drop of water!
I can’t wait to do this experiment with my 7 year old. She loves doing experiments with me. Earlier tonight we found bioluminescent earthworms. Love seeing people who look like me who are interested in science.
That's a possibility! I was thinking those cups might've been diluted. I had to stretch the solution to fill more cups lol. I'm going to repeat it and play with the gelatin concentrations to find a better ratio
@@christine2689 that's true! Gelatin hydrolysis test could ID organisms like bacillus or clostridium spp. But some of those cups melted when I took them out of the fridge, before plating. So I think I accidentally diluted my gelatin 😂
Did you do a 1 for 1 substitution of the gelatin for agar? I've never tried it but I've been told for success you have to add more gelatin to the mix than you do agar. If I'm not mistaken you have to add like 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 in order to get the results you're looking for.
Very interesting. I bet you could swab the pup pup and put it to the colonies of stuff and it would kill a bunch of stuff- doggos are supposes to have very antiseptic saliva!
I did the same thing but like around 10 Blood Agar plates and got swabs around the whole main campus spelling out the name of the science club i was president of.
@@domilarae Another good source would be Vegemite, Marmite, or "Nutritional Yeast", all 3 of them are just yeast extracts. You can also grow your own yeast and then boil them to make a yeast extract.
I honestly think it’s simply increasing the concentration of the gelatin to prevent the melting - but I haven’t tested out my theory. Let me know what works for you!
What about if I would want to find the bacteria of a liquid? Would i have to freeze it then swab it or is there another way (other than plate count that seems complex lol)?
It could be many different kinds of bacteria living in a liquid. We can begin to identify the species by growing them on a plate and isolating the individual colonies. You could probably just swirl the swab in the liquid then roll the swab across the plate to inoculate it.
I think your agar liquified, because you used beef broth (protein in the broth broke down). Very entertaining video, can't wait to set up a mini lab myself. 😄
@@domilarae I'm sorry I didn't notice other people already mentioned the beef stock adition. It might not be that bad, but you can try using beef stock cubes, maybe it's going to turn out better. I rewatched the video and I see you used gelatine (didn't notice on the packet if it's plant or animal based, but since it sais 0g carbohydrates I'm assuming it's animal based - protein gelatine). If you buy 500g of agar agar from Amazon for like $30 and it's going to last for a while. I read somewhere that 1tsp of agar = 5-6 tsp of protein based gelatine. So I think 2-3 tsp of agar will give you a solid looking agar. Oh and also this might help. After you boil your agar on low-mid temp for about 5-7 mins (so you can make your agar sterile) you pour them in sterilised/desinfected plates and cover them let them cool down to room temp and after they become solid flip them and leave them flipped for atleast 30mins so some extra moisture goes out. And while in fridge also keep them flipped. I'll try it next week since I am a chemistry and microbiology analyst and I will just ask the person who cooks our agar for any tips and if I learn something usefull I'll let you know. Sorry for a long answer haha.
Oh and when you boil agar make sure it doesn't boil over. Keep stirring for the whole 5mins and once it starts to rise just remove off heat. One of my school mates from 4 years ago had a terrible burn on her tigh.
Thank you so much for the feedback!! I am definitely going to jot down your tips and save them for my next attempt. I used gelatin since I had some in the pantry on hand. I will get the agar agar next time
You could just make your own toothpaste with coconut oil, clove oil, food grade hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Whatever is causing her bad breath won't stand a chance. The best part is, it's fluoride free!
hi there! I would like to ask how did u put the beef broth in gelatin. Like u make the gelatin solid first then put the broth above it, or you just mixed it with gelatin during the cooking process? thank u! hoping for your fast response, this might help me in my lab experiment:)
It might! Id love to know if you give it a try. It just depends on the brand. I used beef broth because it had the least amount of additives. Just check for spices and herbs because these ingredients could inhibit microbial growth.
I would need a microscope and alot of other supplies haha. The only bacteria I might've identified was Serratia marcescens, it grows near water sources & has a pink-red color ♥️ Thank you for watching!
Just to clear things up: this is NOT a tutorial. I just tried an experiment with gelatin since I didn't have agar agar at my disposal. If interested, I left a link in description for the procedure I used.
Some bacteria can eat the gelatin which is why you had that issue.
@THE.SALINAS.O.G. Right, those bacteria do exist and could’ve affected the cups. I’m assuming it was moreso user error because of the amount of cups that liquified. I was supposed to repeat this experiment with a higher concentration of gelatin and storing the cups in a better location - but it’s been two years and I just haven’t had the time lol
My first try at agar resulted in the exact same results. I pressure cooked the agar 45 min at 15 psi. I used parafilm to seal the agar plates . My recipe was 20 gram agar, 20 gram light malt extract, and .2 gram nutritional yeast and the right amount of filtered water. I watched a you tube "fresh from the farm fungi" video on this subject and what you and I each missed was putting our agar plates into an incubation chamber. I will build one of those next time!
Thanks for sharing! My goal was to make agar with common household products. I was thinking my gelatin ratio wasn’t concentrated enough. But, after watching your video suggestion, I agree that the incubation chamber would eliminate the issue we had. Thanks again, I am going to build one in the future as well!
Hahaha! Never thought of this. I'm going to try this with mycelium to see if I can grow mushroom mycelium.
I also want to try as well! I’ve been watching some diy ways to get mycelium to grow and it’s pretty inexpensive too
So cool. I can't wait until I get into my lab classes. Keep me informed. You're awesome❤❤❤
Thank you for supporting! 💕 How is your semester going so far?
@@domilarae This is my first semester at a community college, late start next month. So I'm still waiting lol. Are you getting AAS or Bachelor?
@@yonimelanin9807 definitely keep me updated & let me know how things go! My bachelors is in biology, so now I'm getting the required courses to be eligible for ascp
@@domilarae hi there what is ascp ?… My bachelors is in accounting but I have been recently having thoughts of changing my career path and been looking at lab technology how would you guide me a person who never did sciences (just a little
Intro chemistry and intro human and social biology high school level) to get into this field of study ?
I imagine some of the molds, possibly some of the bacteria, were producing proteolytic (protease) enzymes, and that broke down the gelatin, since it's just chains of proteins. I can't think of any other reason why it would liquefy like that. Interesting experiment though. I came to YT to specifically look to see if anyone had been using gelatin as an agar substitute and what might happen.
Also, it seems that NaCl (table salt) can reduce gel-strength in gelatin hydrogels. So that could also play a role, since there is probably some NaCl in the beef stock.
So I was gonna suggest using carrageenan instead, but price wise it's essentially the same price as agar.
I agree, gelatinase definitely makes sense after the post 24-hr mark. There were a few cups that started to melt right after I pulled them out of the fridge. I think I diluted the gelatin during transfer (I stretched it really far to make extra cups lol). I went with beef broth since my store didn't have yeast extract alone. I'm gonna try gelatin again, just in case it was my prep work 😂
Thank you. I just purchased my eleven year old a microscope and she seemed unimpressed. I want to do some cultures with her to get the ball rolling. since the local groceries don't sell agar i needed some inspiration. 🥰
That’s awesome! Good luck with the diy project. Here’s another idea if you have some blank microscope slides with cover slips. Grab a sample of water (pond, lake, river, ocean) and view a drop under the microscope - many different organisms just in a single drop of water!
the gelatine most likely got liquefy from some bacteria breaking it down/dissolving it since some bacteria have the enzymes
It's possible. I partially think I diluted the gelatin. Some of cups that were semi-liquid never fully solidified to begin with.
I can’t wait to do this experiment with my 7 year old. She loves doing experiments with me. Earlier tonight we found bioluminescent earthworms. Love seeing people who look like me who are interested in science.
That’s so awesome! I hope y’all have a great time with this experiment! Would love to know how your experience goes after you try it
Thank you!! I didn't have enough petri dishes!! Thank you for a DIY one!!! Thinking about leaving open for 30 min v. 1 hour.
Would love to know how your results come out!
Wow this is amazing DIY thaanks for this
Maybe something specific about the growth in the melty ones that maybe hydrolyzed the gelatin
That's a possibility! I was thinking those cups might've been diluted. I had to stretch the solution to fill more cups lol. I'm going to repeat it and play with the gelatin concentrations to find a better ratio
@@domilarae some bacteria produce the enzyme gelatinase which breaks down gelatin
@@christine2689 that's true! Gelatin hydrolysis test could ID organisms like bacillus or clostridium spp. But some of those cups melted when I took them out of the fridge, before plating. So I think I accidentally diluted my gelatin 😂
Oh my god....I should be focusing on the preparation but I'm obsessing over your pretty fingers 🥺🥺❤
LOL my fingers?
Brilliant!!!!
Thank you for watching! 🥰
My program has been lucky we've been in lab using special precautions the whole time with lecture online
That's great! The cases were really high where I live. I'm back in person now 😁
Did you do a 1 for 1 substitution of the gelatin for agar? I've never tried it but I've been told for success you have to add more gelatin to the mix than you do agar. If I'm not mistaken you have to add like 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 in order to get the results you're looking for.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'm gonna try the 4 to 1, hopefully that would make the mixture more solid
Be sure to post the results of your experiment.
Good luck BTW!
Very interesting. I bet you could swab the pup pup and put it to the colonies of stuff and it would kill a bunch of stuff- doggos are supposes to have very antiseptic saliva!
That’s definitely an idea!, I will try it in the future lol
I did the same thing but like around 10 Blood Agar plates and got swabs around the whole main campus spelling out the name of the science club i was president of.
That's really cool! I bet the results were way better than gelatin haha
este video me lo mostro la escuela
That’s interesting. Did you find it helpful for school?
Don’t put pups business out there like that lol 🤣
Heyy I'm biology student (grade 11) why its necessary to use beef broth?
Beef broth is a great source of nutrients! (amino acids, vitamins and minerals) These all give the microbes what they need to reproduce
@@domilarae Another good source would be Vegemite, Marmite, or "Nutritional Yeast", all 3 of them are just yeast extracts. You can also grow your own yeast and then boil them to make a yeast extract.
@@adamw2785 I couldn't find any yeast extracts in stores near me. I'm gonna try to grow my own yeast one day!
Hi.. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask, how long does it usually take for the agar to cool until solid in the fridge? Great video btw!
Hey! I believe it takes anywhere from 2-4 hrs for gelatin to solidify. I let it sit overnight ☺️
@@domilarae thank you 😊😊😊
would soaking the q tip in sterile water help apply the agent?
It might help! Would love to know how your results turn out!
Thank u , but do we have to add the beef broth ???? If yes why pls ? Thank u.
I just showed the steps I took. You don’t have to use beef broth if you don’t want to..
My gelatin plates are melting at room tempature , how can i avoid this ??
I honestly think it’s simply increasing the concentration of the gelatin to prevent the melting - but I haven’t tested out my theory. Let me know what works for you!
😍😍😍I love it 😍😍😍
Thank you!! 😁🥰
Great video
What about if I would want to find the bacteria of a liquid? Would i have to freeze it then swab it or is there another way (other than plate count that seems complex lol)?
It could be many different kinds of bacteria living in a liquid. We can begin to identify the species by growing them on a plate and isolating the individual colonies. You could probably just swirl the swab in the liquid then roll the swab across the plate to inoculate it.
@@domilarae thank youuu
Gary said the water is due to temperature changes in the agar storage area
That would make a lot of sense! thank you
What is the purpose of beef broth in the agar? just curious. 🧐
Nutrients for the microbes
I think your agar liquified, because you used beef broth (protein in the broth broke down). Very entertaining video, can't wait to set up a mini lab myself. 😄
That makes a lot of sense! I’d like to try again soon, do you have any household friendly ingredient suggestions for the diy agar?
@@domilarae I'm sorry I didn't notice other people already mentioned the beef stock adition. It might not be that bad, but you can try using beef stock cubes, maybe it's going to turn out better. I rewatched the video and I see you used gelatine (didn't notice on the packet if it's plant or animal based, but since it sais 0g carbohydrates I'm assuming it's animal based - protein gelatine). If you buy 500g of agar agar from Amazon for like $30 and it's going to last for a while. I read somewhere that 1tsp of agar = 5-6 tsp of protein based gelatine. So I think 2-3 tsp of agar will give you a solid looking agar.
Oh and also this might help. After you boil your agar on low-mid temp for about 5-7 mins (so you can make your agar sterile) you pour them in sterilised/desinfected plates and cover them let them cool down to room temp and after they become solid flip them and leave them flipped for atleast 30mins so some extra moisture goes out. And while in fridge also keep them flipped. I'll try it next week since I am a chemistry and microbiology analyst and I will just ask the person who cooks our agar for any tips and if I learn something usefull I'll let you know. Sorry for a long answer haha.
Oh and when you boil agar make sure it doesn't boil over. Keep stirring for the whole 5mins and once it starts to rise just remove off heat. One of my school mates from 4 years ago had a terrible burn on her tigh.
Thank you so much for the feedback!! I am definitely going to jot down your tips and save them for my next attempt. I used gelatin since I had some in the pantry on hand. I will get the agar agar next time
😍😍
How long does it take for the bacteria to grow
It usually takes a few days to a week, but with optimal conditions it will take 24-48 hrs
You could just make your own toothpaste with coconut oil, clove oil, food grade hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Whatever is causing her bad breath won't stand a chance. The best part is, it's fluoride free!
Thank you so much for the suggestion! I am going to try it for her.
hi there! I would like to ask how did u put the beef broth in gelatin. Like u make the gelatin solid first then put the broth above it, or you just mixed it with gelatin during the cooking process? thank u! hoping for your fast response, this might help me in my lab experiment:)
I mixed the beef broth in the cooking pot while boiling the gelatin
@@domilarae thank you so much. This will be a great help for me:)
@@relanodianarose3023 good luck with your experiment! Would love to know how it turns out
Did they die from suferd becuase of the gelatin becuase there not moving
I’m not sure what you are referring to, microbes move at a microscopic level
Does chicken broth work
It might! Id love to know if you give it a try. It just depends on the brand. I used beef broth because it had the least amount of additives. Just check for spices and herbs because these ingredients could inhibit microbial growth.
Can it be any type of beef broth
Sure, just check the label to make sure there aren’t any natural antimicrobials in the ingredients list (garlic, herbs, etc).
Hey can you tell me how you disposed them off?
I made sure all of the tops were tight and disposed in a tied up bag
@@domilarae ok thank you so much ☺️
Can you determine the bacteria or do you need a microscope for that? Already thanks for you reply. Your video's are really inspiring!
I would need a microscope and alot of other supplies haha. The only bacteria I might've identified was Serratia marcescens, it grows near water sources & has a pink-red color ♥️ Thank you for watching!
@@domilarae thank you this helped me a lot! I wanted to do something with agar and see what happens if you put different types of water on it.
Am i the only one completely creeped out by the way the colonies look? 😂
Also, how are your dogs teeth? Make sure you get him a dental performed :)
The smell only comes when I spoil her with too many treats 🤣