You are on page 1of 2

Administrative Offices Phone: 207-873-7711 Fax: 207-873-7022

P.O. Box 788 Waterville, Maine 04903-0788 227 China Road Winslow, Maine 04901

Customer Service Phone: 1-800-244-8378 Fax: 207-873-7022

TECHNICAL PRODUCT INFORMATION


McFarland Turbidity Standards Catalog No. M0050 No. 0.5 M0200 No. 2 M0500 No. 5 M0800 No. 8 M1100 Set of 1-10 Catalog No. M0090 No. 0.9 M0300 No. 3 M0600 No. 6 M0900 No. 9 Catalog No. M0100 No. 1 M0400 No. 4 M0700 No. 7 M1000 No. 10

INTENDED USE: 1 McFarland Standards are tubes of barium sulfate suspensions as described by McFarland for use as standards in adjusting densities of bacterial and other turbid suspensions. They may also be used as suspensions for standardizing electrometric turbidimeters for turbidimetric relating to the McFarland series. The McFarland 0.5 standard has particular application in the preparation of bacterial inocula for performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing Publications describing the case of McFarland barium sulfate standards are cited in references 2,3,4 and 5. PRINCIPLES: The density of the bacterial suspensions is determined by direct visual comparison of the suspensions with the McFarland barium sulfate standards. It is obvious, of course, that the diameter of the tubes in which the suspensions are measured must be comparable with the standard. It is also essential that the standards be thoroughly shaken to insure complete suspension of the barium sulfate each time they are used. Visual comparison of turbidity is easily and accurately made by viewing the test suspensions and standard against a white background with a black line running horizontally at midpoint. McFarland Standards sets are available in series numbered 1 through 10, and represent the approximate turbidity of most bacteria per milliliter as follows: Standard No. 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bacteria in Millions/mL 100 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100 2400 2700 3000

NEL McFarland Standards are available separately, including 0.5 and 0.9, or as a set from 1 to 10.

McFarland Turbidity Standards

Page 1 of 2

FORMULA:
STANDARD # CATALOG # 1% BARIUM CHLORIDE (mL) 1% SULFURIC ACID (mL) 0.5 M0050 0.5 99.5 0.9 M0090 0.9 99.1 1 M0100 1.0 99.0 2 M0200 2.0 98.0 3 M0300 3.0 97.0 4 M0400 4.0 96.0 5 M0500 5.0 95.0 6 M0600 6.0 94.0 7 M0700 7.0 93.0 8 M0800 8.0 92.0 9 M0900 9.0 91.0 10 M1000 10.0 90.0

PRECAUTIONS: Since living organisms used with this material can be infectious to the user, proper handling and disposal methods should be established by the laboratory director. This product is for IN VITRO DIAGNOSTIC USE. STORAGE: This media should be stored at 15 - 30 C. in the dark. Use prior to expiration date. REFERENCES: 1) McFarland, J., JAMA 49:1176, 1907. 2) Kolmer, J. A., Infection, Immunity and Biologic Therapy, Sanders, Philadelphia, PA. 1923 nd 3) Boyd, W. C., Fundamentals of Immunology, 2 Ed., Interscience, New York, 1947. th 4) Bray, W. E., Clinical Laboratory Methods, 5 Ed., C. V. Mosby, st. Louis, MO. 1957. th 5) Diagnostic Procedures and Reagents, 4 Ed., APHA, New York, 1963.

McFarland Turbidity Standards

Page 2 of 2

You might also like