Inspissation
Inspissation is the process of thickening by dehydration.
Intentional use
Inspissation is the process used when heating high-protein containing media; for example to enable recovery of bacteria for testing. Once inspissation has occurred, any stained bacteria, such as Mycobacteria, can then be isolated.
A Serum inspissation or Fractional sterilization is a process of heating an article on 3 successive days as follows:
| Day | Temperature | Time | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85 °C | 60 minutes | Drying of the medium and killing the organisms in their vegetative form |
| Time in between | overnight incubation | Growth of vegetative forms from spores | |
| 2 | 75 to 80 °C | 20 minutes | killing the organisms in their vegetative form |
| Time in between | overnight incubation | Growth of vegetative forms from any spores remaining | |
| 3 | 75 to 85 °C | 20 minutes | killing the organisms in their vegetative form as well as the leftover spores |
Pathologic inspissation
In cystic fibrosis, inspissation of secretions in the respiratory[1] and gastrointestinal tracts is a major mechanism of causing the disease.
References
- Perlman M, Williams J, Hirsch M, Bar-Ziv J (September 1975). "Familial non-cystic fibrosis mucus inspissation of respiratory tract". Arch. Dis. Child. 50 (9): 727–30. doi:10.1136/adc.50.9.727. PMC 1545639. PMID 1190822.
Further reading
- Textbook of Microbiology by Prof. C P Baveja, ISBN 81-7855-266-3
- Textbook of Microbiology by Ananthanarayan and Panikar, ISBN 81-250-2808-0
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