224 



The Cultivation of Anaerobic Organisms 



' "Two lengths of nichrome wire 6 cm. long, are separately fused into a glass 

 tube so that thev are insulated (A), and the glass tube (B), closed at each end 

 is passed through a one-hole rubber stopper (C). To the lower ends of the 

 nichrome wire is attached a coil of fine (No. 31) nichrome wire (D) thus completing 

 the circuit. In the coils of the fine wire is placed a small mass of platinized 

 asbestos (E). The apparatus is placed in a package and autoclaved. A large 

 test-tube, 20 by 1.5 cm. is used, to which 10 cc. of media are added, sterilized 

 and slanted. The water of condensation is removed and the tube inoculated. 

 The tube is then inverted, the cotton plug removed, and the tube filled with 

 hydrogen by means of a sterile capillary pipette. The platinized asbestos 

 mass is heated for a moment in a free flame and the rubber stopper is then firmly 

 inserted into the inverted tube and the end of the tube dipped in melted paraffine. 



_Gl435bulb conTdinin^ 

 platinized afbeslos 



i'Zmm.perfbrdtiona 



Fig. 65. — Detail of the platinized asbestos bulb for the anaerobic jar (Smillie). 



The tube may now be placed in an upright position and sufl&cient electric current 

 applied to the free ends of the wire to heat the fine nichrome wire wrapped 

 about the platinized asbestos to a red heat. 



The catalyzer is then heated and the free oxygen and hydrogen unite to 

 forin water. The tube is set aside for one-half hour to an hour, then the platin- 

 ized asbestos is reheated in order to ignite any residual oxygen. The tube 

 may now be incubated. The method is very useful for growing all anaerobes for 

 the oxygen is always removed, whereas the Laidlaw method frequently fails. 

 It is particularly useful for the cultivation of the stricter aerobes." The method 

 can be adapted to Blake bottles and flasks. 



But the chief improvement made by Smillie was the adaptation 

 of the method to an anaerobic jar in which a considerable number of 

 tubes could be simultaneously placed for culture, and in which he 

 was successful in obtaining growths of the globoid bodies from the 



