High grade Urea Agar Base (Christensen) (Autoclavable) is supplied by Micromaster. It is available in the form of a light yellow to light pink homogenous free flowing powder with a pH in the range of 6.6 to 7.0. This product should be stored between 10-30C in a tightly closed container. Once opened, it should be properly stored, after tightly capping the bottle. Due to the hygroscopic nature of the product, there could be chances of lump formation which can be avoided by proper storage. Store in dry ventilated area protected from extremes of temperature and sources of ignition.

• Quantity provided: 500 g/pack

Urea Agar Base with the addition of Urea is recommended for the detection of urease production, particularly by members of the genus Proteus. Urea Agar described by Christensen detected urease activity by all rapidly urease-positive Proteus organisms and also by other members of Enterobacteriaceae that exhibited a delayed urease reaction. This was accomplished by a) adding glucose to the medium b) decreasing the peptone concentration, and c) decreasing the buffering system, as a less buffered medium detects even smaller amount of alkali. Peptone is the source of essential nutrients. Dextrose is the energy source. Sodium chloride maintains the osmotic equilibrium of the medium whereas phosphates serve to buffer the medium. Urea is hydrolyzed to liberate ammonia. Phenol red indicator detects the alkalinity generated by visible colour change from orange to pink. Prolonged incubation may cause alkaline reaction in the medium. A medium without urea serves as negative control to rule out false positive results. Also, all urea test media rely on the alkalinity formation and so they are not specific for determining the absolute rate of urease activity.