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Fluid Thioglycollate Medium conforms with specifications of The United States Pharmacopeia (USP).

Fluid Thioglycollate Medium (FTM) is used for the sterility testing of biologics and for the cultivation of anaerobes, aerobes and microaerophiles.

Fluid Thioglycollate Medium was designed by Brewer for rapid cultivation of anaerobes as well as aerobes.¹ It was first made available in dehydrated form by the Baltimore Biological Laboratory (BBL) in 1940. Incorporation of casein peptone was introduced by Vera in 1944.²

This medium is capable of supporting good growth of a great variety of fastidious organisms, of both pathogenic and nonpathogenic species. A feature of sodium thioglycollate, in addition to lowering the oxidation-reduction potential, is its ability to neutralize the antibacterial activity of mercurial compounds. These characteristics make FTM particularly useful for determining the presence of contamination in biological and other materials. The BBL formula meets the requirements of the USP growth promotion test.³

Fluid Thioglycollate Medium may be used after its preparation until approximately 30% of the medium has been oxidized, as indicated by a pink color of the resazurin at the surface. If oxidation has proceeded further, the broth may be reheated once in steam or boiling water, cooled and used.

See "Quality Control Procedures."

Quality Control requirements must be performed in accordance with applicable local, state and/or federal regulations or accreditation requirements and your laboratory's standard Quality Control procedures. It is recommended that the user refer to pertinent CLSI (formerly NCCLS) guidance and CLIA regulations for appropriate Quality Control practices.

A single electrode of sufficiently small size to fit into the tubes should be used to determine the pH potentiometrically of tubed media. The tip of the electrode should be placed below the surface of broth media.

For in vitro Diagnostic Use.

Caution should be exercised in reporting direct Gram stain and/or other direct microbiological stain results on tissue specimens processed with this medium due to the possible presence of nonviable organisms in the culture medium.

Tubes with tight caps should be opened carefully to avoid injury due to breakage of glass.

Pathogenic microorganisms, including hepatitis viruses and Human Immunodeficiency Virus, may be present in clinical specimens. "Standard Precautions"^5-8 and institutional guidelines should be followed in handling all items contaminated with blood and other body fluids. After use, prepared tubes, specimen containers and other contaminated materials must be sterilized by autoclaving before discarding.