Oxyrase® for Agar: Enzyme-Based Supplement for Pouring Anaerobe Agar Plates

Oxyrase® for Agar (OA) is a sterile, enzyme-based supplement that utilizes the proprietary Oxyrase® Enzyme System—consisting of bacterial membrane fragments and substrates—to catalytically remove dissolved oxygen from agar media, creating stable reduced environments for cultivating oxygen-sensitive microorganisms. This method eliminates the requirement for traditional anaerobic equipment like gas packs or chambers, enabling pre-reduction of the agar plate, supporting the growth of facultative and obligate anaerobes. Designed for research microbiologists, it facilitates efficient isolation, enumeration via pour plates, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of anaerobes, coming in a sterile and ready-to-use format.

Key Applications and Benefits

Custom Anaerobic Media Preparation: Compatible with various agars (optimal pH 6.5-7.5) for clinical isolate recovery, environmental analysis, and microbial ecology or pathogenesis studies, enhancing recovery of species like Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium perfringens, and Prevotella spp.

AST Advantages: Prevents CO₂-induced pH shifts that increase MICs for pH-sensitive antibiotics (e.g., macrolides), resulting in more accurate profiles—often 2-4 dilutions lower for azithromycin and erythromycin.

Broad Compatibility: Efficiently removes Oxygen and reduces agar media in a wide variety of media formulations, supporting microbiome research.

Innovative Uses: Supports bacteriophage detection for fecal pollution indicators and combinations with reductants like sodium thioglycolate for spore germination studies. Recent applications include simulating intestinal anaerobiosis for E. coli phenotypic studies and culturing strict anaerobes like Clostridium novyi for therapeutic development.

Usage Guidelines

See product insert for IFU.

Compatibility Chart: What Agar formulations is Oxyrase for agar known to be compatible with?

Performance Notes

Effective for growth comparable to commercially produced PRAS media. Supported by over 35 years of innovation, it enables precise anaerobic research in diverse settings.