Transport media for microbiology

Transport media for microorganisms are essentially buffer solutions containing carbohydrates, peptones and other nutrients (excluding growth factors) designed to preserve the viability of bacteria during transport without allowing them to multiply. The main purpose of using the transport medium is to keep the sample as close as possible to its original state.

The transport medium for microorganisms is designed to preserve a sample and to minimize bacterial overgrowth between the time of collection and sample processing such as culture. Depending on the type of suspected organisms in the sample, the transport medium may vary.

However, in general, transport media for microorganisms are classified according to their physical, semi-solid or liquid state, and also according to their usefulness as bacterial or viral transport media. The most commonly used medium for the transport of bacteria is Amies medium.