Thermo Scientific™ Oxoid™ R2A Agar (Dehydrated) is a specialized, nutritionally reduced medium designed to accurately enumerate heterotrophic bacteria in drinking water, particularly stressed or chlorine-damaged organisms.

Traditional high-nutrient media, like Plate Count Agar, often fail to recover these stressed bacteria because faster-growing organisms outcompete them.

R2A Agar’s low-nutrient formulation, combined with longer incubation times, allows these injured bacteria to recover and grow, providing a more realistic colony count than conventional methods. This is crucial as traditional methods may only detect a small fraction of the bacteria actually present in a water sample.

Catalog: CM0906