R-2A AGAR PLATE (g- irradiated) (Triple Pack)

R-2A Agar Plate is designed for laboratories that need accurate heterotrophic plate counts in treated potable water and other low-nutrient water systems. It allows growth of slow-growing, stressed or injured microorganisms that would otherwise be undetected after water treatment processes, instead of conventional high-nutrient media. It is the preferred medium for heterotrophic plate count (HPC) testing using pour plate, spread plate or membrane filtration techniques as recommended by APHA. The prepared plates are also gamma irradiated, helping reduce the microbial load on the medium, Petri dishes, and packaging materials before use.
Its balanced formulation supports reliable recovery without encouraging rapid overgrowth by competing microorganisms. Casein acid hydrolysate, proteose peptone, and yeast extract act as a source of balanced nutrition while dextrose acts as a source of energy. Soluble starch neutralizes toxic metabolic products of metabolism and sodium pyruvate promotes recovery of injured cells. Magnesium sulphate is a source of important minerals and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate helps to maintain a stable pH during incubation. R-2A Agar is commonly applied in the monitoring of potable water quality, water treatment plants, bottled water analysis, pool water inspection, and environmental microbiology laboratories for detection of stressed heterotrophic bacteria.

Gamma-irradiated, low-nutrient medium for heterotrophic plate count and recovery of stressed bacteria from treated water samples.