10L Media Kit: BG-11 Medium



10L Media Kit: BG-11 Medium

BG-11 medium (Allen and Stanier 1968) was derived from medium no. 11 (Hughes et al. 1958) for the culture of freshwater, soil, thermal, and marine cyanobacteria.

Media kit includes all the necessary chemical components to prepare 10 Liters of BG-11 Medium. All UTEX Media Kit solutions are shipped sterile and should be handled aseptically to avoid contamination.

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Medium At A Glance

Water Type Freshwater
pH of Medium pH>8
Contains Micronutrients, NO3

Directions

For 10L Total Volume

  1. Obtain and wear the appropriate PPE.
  2. To approximately 9.7 Liters (9,700 mL) of dH2O, add the first three solutions (Components #1-3) in order while stirring.
    • Bring total volume to 10 Liters (10,000 mL) with dH2O.
    • Cover and autoclave or filter-sterilize if non-sterile water was used.
    • When cooled, aseptically add Component #4.
    • Store at refrigerator temperatures.

    Components In Kit
    Final Concentration
    NaNO3 17.6 mM
    MgSO47H2O 0.23 mM
    CaCl2·2H2O 0.24 mM
    Citric Acid·H2O 0.031 mM
    BG-11 Trace Metals Solution
    Na2EDTA·2H2O 0.0027 mM
    Ferric Ammonium Citrate 0.021 mM
    K2HPO4 0.23 mM
    Na2CO3 0.19 mM

    Important Notes To Consider:

    • The quality of water, including natural seawater, is important. The term 'dH2O' generally refers to distilled, deionized, distilled/deionized water, Milli-Q water (Millipore Corp.), etc. Natural seawater and natural freshwater should be obtained from a non-polluted source.
    • When dissolving chemicals, wait for the first component to dissolve before adding the second. Stirring, and sometimes the addition of heat, is often required to dissolve the chemicals efficiently. Preparation of stock solutions for frequently made algal culture media make preparing media convenient but also necessary to avoid errors from weighing very tiny amounts.
    • Attention should be given to the pH of the final medium. In most cases, if pH adjustment is required, this occurs before sterilization. Please note that autoclaving removes carbon dioxide from media lacking carbonate stabilizing buffers. This would make the medium very alkaline soon after removal from the autoclave. In these cases, you should wait approximately 24 hours for gaseous equilibrium before inoculating the medium.