# Evaluation of a commercial pressure cooker for the preparation of agar media for a diagnostic microbiology laboratory

## TL;DR

A pressure cooker can be used instead of an autoclave to prepare agar media in low-resource labs, producing reliable results for bacterial culture and testing.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that a commercial pressure cooker can effectively replace an autoclave for agar media preparation in resource-limited settings.

## Key findings

- Colony morphology and phenotypic characteristics were consistent between media prepared with a pressure cooker and an autoclave.
- Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test results were nearly identical regardless of sterilization method.
- Geobacillus stearothermophilus biological indicators confirmed adequate sterilization using the pressure cooker.

## Abstract

The ability to prepare sterilized media is a critical capability of any microbiology lab. Diagnostic labs in low-resource settings, which lack autoclave facilities, are therefore severely limited in their ability to perform basic assays such as bacterial culture or biochemical tests. This investigation aimed to validate the use of a commercially available pressure cooker as an autoclave substitute to produce agar plates. First, a Geobacillus stearothermophilus biological indicator was used to confirm adequate sterilization. Next, the colony morphology of several important bacterial species were compared on MacConkey and 5% sheep’s blood agar plates prepared using the pressure cooker with those made in an autoclave. Finally, disc diffusion susceptibility testing was performed to determine whether the sterilization method impacts the inhibitory zone diameters. Overall, the morphology of colonies was similar on media prepared in both ways; key phenotypic characteristics (lactose fermentation, colour, shape, hemolysis and smell) were the same. Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test results were nearly identical. These findings indicate that a commercially available pressure cooker may be suitable to prepare media in low-resource laboratories.