Storing New Slants

[mfdes]

Hi all!

Is it advisable to keep unused slants in the freezer? I usually keep mine in the fridge and find that after 6 months or so there is noticeable evaporation. They start to shrink quite noticeably.
As I can normally prepare fresh slants at short notice, I've not seen this as a problem. However soon I won't have access to a laminar flow cabinet so I thought I'd set myself up for my foreseeable use by pouring myself a bunch of slants and keeping them wrapped in a freezer that is manual defrost only.
Do the slants freeze ok? Without yeast obviously. Does the agar retain its consistency when thawed out?

MFS.

 

[~MikE]

can't say i've tried it but i'm fairly sure you're not supposed to freeze solid (agarose) media...

my guess is, make them and screw the caps before it sets to give it condensation in the slants. then keep them in an air tight box in the fridge with a wet paper towel inside...

 

[mfdes]

From all I've heard they go mushy...

MFS.