How Comparable Are Different Vendors' LB Media?

Lysogeny broth (LB) is one of the most popular media used for growing bacteria, especially recombinant strains of E. coli. Common additives to LB media include antibiotics for selective cultivations and agar for plate cultures. Due to its broad usage, LB media can be purchased in liquid or dry powder mix from many vendors. Still, each vendor’s source of the individual components of the media may differ. This variance could change the concentrations of individual components in the media, which may affect the culture’s growth rates.

Due to the high variation in some amino acids, it would be wise to routinely check fresh media formulations of LB media. Using the REBEL to quickly screen different vendor’s LB media may support reproducible cultures and media preparations for bacterial cultures.