Hi Louise

I've not done this myself.  In a 1985 paper 9Microwave processing of
dehydrated culture media. Med Lab Sci 42:156-160), Cowan and Allen report
that microwave heating caused only small and variable decrease in the number
of bacterial spores present in dehydrated culture media.  However, when Boon
& Kok used a similar method (rinse the glassware with water then expose to
700W microwaves for some minutes), they "did not find bacterial
contamination in the tissue cultures when this equipment was used directly
after treatment (Microwave Cookbook for Microscopists, p 396).  See also
Sackett, Microwave sterilization: a method for home sterilization of urinary
catheters. J Urol 143: 1239.

best regards,
Steven Slap

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