Development of culture vessel for sterility testing of bandages and other medical devices.

A cylindrical glass culture vessel equipped with a vented nylon closure was developed and evaluated for sterility testing. The sterility testing cylinder (STC), made in 2 sizes, accommodates 250 or 400 mL culture broth. A tight-fitting, skirted nylon cap protects the upper part of the cylinder, and a membrane filter in a recessed opening allows venting during autoclaving and ensures sterility during removal and replacement of the cap.

An improved cooked meat medium for the detection of Clostridium botulinum.

A new medium composed of cooked meat and fluid thioglycolate broth was tested with 20 proteolytic and 11 saccharolytic strains of Clostridium botulinum. All of the proteolytic strains produced a black ring at the surface of the broth, presumably due to hydrogen sulfide production, while the saccharolytic strains produced white opaque rings. Since the black ring is formed rapidly and is easily seen, the new medium may be useful for the rapid identification of proteolysis in unknown isolates.