Be familiar with the basic equipment of a microbiology laboratory

Understand the principles of aseptic technique and be able to apply

these to: 1. Inoculating an agar slope and 2. Streaking out bacterial
growth onto an agar plate to obtain separated colonies
Aseptictechniquesaremethodsofhandlingmaterialswhichminimisesthe
chancesofmicrobialcontamination.Thisisdonetokeepthepureculturesof
themicroorganismsrelativelypureandpreventtheenvironmentandtheuser
beingcontamatinated.Techniquesincludeusingsterileequipment,using
barrirssuchascapsorcottonwool,workingclosetoBunsenburnersbecause
updraftreducesthecanceofmicrorbobestofallingintothecontainer,passing
opencontainerspipettesandotheritemsthoughaflameatthestart,opening
containersatminimum,holdingcontainersinanearhorizontralpositionto
preventparticlesfallingin,cleanworkspacewithdisinfectant,disposeof
unwantedculturesanduseofasterileroom.
Procedurefor1:AgarslopeOpenthejaratanangle

Prepare heat fixed, Gram stained smears of bacteria suitable for

microscopic examination

Microscopically differentiate a mixture of bacteria into Gram positive

and Gram negative cells

Understand the rationale underlying the Gram stain as it relates to

differentiating cell structure