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.