INSTRUCTIONS
THE PROCESS:
THE TEXTILE
Prepare the textiles
prepare the textiles in the desired style
place them inside a plastic disposable autoclave bag
THE MEDIUM
Preparing Nutrient Agar - (for the bacteria production)
take the 500 ml bottle and fill it up to 250 ml with (distilled if available) water
Dissolve 5 gr of nutrient agar (dosage is 20gr / liter)
Add 0,5 ml of glycerine with a pipette
Close the bottle with the cap and gently mix a little bit
Unscrew the cap a little bit so that it’s not sealed
Or
Preparing Nutrient broth nr 1 – (for the textiles)
take the 500 ml bottle and fill it up to 250 ml with (distilled if available) water
Dissolve 6,75 gr of nutrient broth (dosage is 25gr / liter)
Add 0,5 ml of glycerine with a pipette
Close the bottle with the cap and gently mix a little bit
Unscrew the cap a little bit so that it’s not sealed
###STERILIZE
Sterilize with the pressure cooker
Add ±1 liter water in the pressure cooker (as reference: less than in the liquid in the bottle you are sterilizing)
Put the bottle in the pressure cooker (with the cap slightly unscrewed)
- if planning on dyeing the textiles, add the bag with the prepared textiles.
Slide the lid of the pressure cooker to close it sealed
Set the pressure cooker to high pressure/the most sealed (2 out of 2,1,steam,0)
Set the electric cooker at the highest temperature until it starts steaming
Now put the electric cooker’s temperature to low heat for ±20 minutes
At this point turn heat off and wait until the pressure cooker’s pin is down and there is no more steam
Take everything out
THE PETRI DISHES
Prepare the Petri dishes - without textiles
Prepare the petri dishes by writing all the information on the back (medium, bacteria name, date and person)
Poor some alcohol on the table and sterilize area
Place the camping fire next to the sterile area and turn it on
Unscrew the bottle’s cap and sterilize the edge of the neck of the bottle on the fire
Quickly open the petri dish and poor in a layer (a couple of mm) of nutrient agar
Let it rest until firm/cooled down
Prepare the Petri dishes - with the textiles
Prepare the petri dishes by writing all the information on the back (medium, bacteria name, date and person)
Poor some alcohol on the table and sterilyze area
Place the camping fire next to the sterile area and turn it on
Sterilyze the metal pincet/tweezer with some alcohol
Carefully open the disposable autoclave bag and take out the prepared textile using the pincet
Place it in the petri dish and close it
Unscrew the bottle’s cap and sterilize the edge of the neck of the bottle on the fire
Quickly open the petri dish and poor in a layer (a couple of mm) of nutrient broth over the textiles
Let it rest until firm/cooled down
THE INOCULATION
Inoculation
Poor some alcohol on the table and sterilyze area
Place the camping fire next to the sterile area and turn it on
Take the metal inoculation loop and sterilize it by passing it onto the flame (if plastic skip the sterilizing)
With quick and carefull movements:
open slightly the cap of the dish with the bacteria
dip the still warm inoculation loop in the medium next to the bacteria (not on bacteria)
now swipe gently over the bacteria
trasfer bacteria on the new petri dish (or on the textile)
(TIP: always open both the petridishes on the flame/sterile side)
Now seal the petridish with some Parafilm tape
GROWING
Now that petri dishes have been inoculated they need to be stored at around 26/30 degrees celsius in an incubator or similar.