Experiment no: 01

Experiment name: Observation of microbes inside and outside of the incubator

Principle:
Microbial observation inside and outside of an incubator involves similar techniques used for
environmental sampling including swabbing surfaces and culturing microbes on agar plates.
Incubators play a critical role in microbiology laboratorites, providing optimal conditions for the
growth of microorganisms. The goal is to observe and the microbial populations present inside
and outside of an incubator using swab samples and nutrient broth.

Materials:
-Swabs
-Nutrient broth
-Incubator
-Sterile petri dishes
-Inoculating loop
-Bunsen burner

Methodology:

1. Label sterile petri dishes as ‘Inside nutrient agar’ and ‘Outside mannitol salt agar’.
2. Swab the inside surfaces of the incubator with a sterile swab, ensuring to cover different ares.
3. Swab an outside surfaces with a separate sterile swab.
4. Place each swab into separate tubes containing nutrient broth.
5. Incubate the two tubes at the appropriate temperature for microbial growth (usually 37°C for
24-48 hours).
6. Transfer a loopful of each culture onto the labelled petri dishes using sterile technique.
7. Incubated the petri dishes upside down in the incubator for another 24-48 hours.
8. After incubation, observe the rate of growth of microbes.
 Fig(1): Observation of microbes inside and outside of the incubator

Result:

Inside the incubator ( nutrient agar): Numerous colonies of various shapes, sizes, colors were
observed indicating a diverse microbial population.
Outside the incubator (mannitol salt agar): Fewer colonies were observed compared to inside
of the incubator.

Discussion:
The presence of microbial growth both inside and outside of the incubator confirms the
ubiquitous nature of microorganisms in the environment