Category: Lab Notes: Microbiology

Ampicillin is one of the most extensively used antibiotics as a selection marker in molecular biology and bacteriology. Ampicillin is available as Ampicillin anhydrous, Ampicillin trihydrate and Ampicillin sodium salt. Ampicillin sodium salt is often used to prepare stock solution as it has better solubility in water (>50 mg/ml in water). A 50 mg/ml stock solution of ampicillin can be prepared by dissolving 500 mg ampicillin sodium salt in water to a final volume of 10 ml.

The 2 x YT medium, also known as a 2 x TY medium, is a rich medium. It is recommended for the growth and propagation of E. coli infected with the single strand filamentous bacteriophage M13. It can be prepared by dissolving 16 g tryptone, 10 g yeast extract, and 5 g Sodium chloride (NaCl) in water to a final volume of 1000 ml.

Amplification of plasmid is desirable for many applications including gene cloning, DNA sequencing, transfection, and probe preparation. The fastest and routinely used method to amplify plasmid is to introduce plasmid in an appropriate strain of E. coli e.g., DH5α (the process is called transformation), grow them to a suitable culture volume, and finally, extract plasmid from them (the process called plasmid isolation).