Protocol Online logo
Top : New Forum Archives (2009-): : General Lab Techniques

Unused Lab Materials - (Aug/06/2015 )

I have not used antibiotics and LB-agar plates for a month or so and left them on the bottom of the 4 degrees Celsius fridge (where my stuff have been assigned to in my lab). I noticed that there are tiny drops of liquid inside the tubes and inside the bags containing the plates. This seems to happen only with my stuff. Why is that? And should I remake the antibiotics and plates? 

-wswr-

the tubes can be vortexed to remix the droplets (assuming these are tubes of liquid).

 

did you put the plates into the fridge while they were hot or still liquid? agar side down? has the agar not dried (or mostly dried)?

 

if so then you can turn them agar side up and the liquid should be reabsorbed over time if it hasn't consolidated into a large, mobile, drop.

-mdfenko-

To add to mdfenko's good advice, have a look at those agar plates.   The liquid may have evolved via syneresis, so check the surface of the gel for cracks.   If they're cracked then bin them, if not then continue as mdfenko advises.

-Astilius-