Petri-Dish Spreaders Sterilized by Electrical Heating

An improved method of sterilizing petri-dish spreaders and a spreader design to implement the method have been developed. In comparison with the conventional methods of sterilizing petri-dish spreaders, the improved method is expected to prove easier, safer, less time-consuming, and less costly, and to require less laboratory space. This improved method could be used in microbiological investigations in microgravity (e.g., aboard the International Space Station) or in normal Earth gravity (e.g., in government and clinical laboratories and research institutions). Particularly, when used in spaceflight, the improved method will prove safer than the traditional flame sterilization method.