Help a microbiologist prepare a pure culture that can be used to identify a microbe causing an infection! Use good aseptic technique to avoid contamination of the sample, ensure your own safety, and avoid surprise fires in the lab.
Professional
High School
University / College
This simulation, along with “Fermentation: Optimize bio-ethanol production,” was adapted from learning objectives in the original “Fermentation” simulation. For more information on this topic, see Labster's Microbiology simulations.
A patient sample has arrived in the microbiology lab. Will you be able to culture it using good aseptic technique? Learn about aseptic technique and what you should pay attention to when preparing a sterile work area, sterilizing equipment and reagents, and decontaminating the work area after you finish your experiment.
Preparing a sterile field
You will start off by preparing the sterile work area. Use your own microbiology knowledge, the tooltips, and theory pages to ensure you are using good aseptic technique. Don’t worry if you make a mistake and your work area is not quite sterile. In the virtual lab, Dr. One can guide you to repeat some steps without losing several hours like you would in the physical lab.
Culturing and cleaning up
Next, you will culture your sample and the appropriate control using sterile equipment and reagents. Once you have placed your samples in the incubator: it’s clean up time! Dr. One will again guide you if you accidentally contaminated one of the samples or accidentally set the lab on fire.
Analyzing your results
After the incubation, check your samples to see if you have used correct aseptic technique throughout the experiment. Will you be able to create a pure culture that the microbiologist can use to identify an unknown microbe?
RELATED SIMULATIONS
Fermentation: Optimize bio-ethanol production
Fermentation
Length:
15
mins
Accessibility mode:
Available
Languages:
English (United States)
German
Spanish
Italian
French
At the end of this simulation, you will be able to:
Understand the principles of aseptic technique for the prevention of infection and contamination
Create and maintain a sterile work area
Use sterile equipment and consumables correctly
State potential sources of microbial contamination
Assess whether a sample was contaminated
At the end of this simulation, you will be able to:
University
NGSS
IB
AP
Engage students in science through interactive learning scenarios. Simulate experiments, train lab techniques, and teach theory through visual experiences that enhance long-term learning outcomes.
300+ Web-based simulations that can be played on laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets/iPads without installing any software
Teacher dashboard to automate grading and track student progress
Embedded quizzes to help students master science content
Library of learning resources, lab reports, videos, theory pages, graphics and more
Elevate your nursing program with UbiSim, a VR solution dedicated to clinical excellence.
Labster integrates with all major LMS (Learning Management Systems) so that educators can use their gradebooks to track students’ performance data and students can keep a record of their work. Labster is compatible with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Google Classroom, Schoology, Sakai, and Brightspace / D2L. It’s also possible to use Labster without an LMS.
Understand the principles of aseptic technique for the prevention of infection and contamination
Create and maintain a sterile work area
Use sterile equipment and consumables correctly
State potential sources of microbial contamination
Assess whether a sample was contaminated