About LB media
Luria-Bertani (LB) is a nutrient-rich liquid broth for growing bacteria. It is commonly used during cloning experiments to amplify competent bacteria. When combined with agar, LB media is also used to create LB agar plates which enable the growth of bacteria on a solid medium.
Download the recipe as a PDF
To download the LB media recipe as a PDF then click here.
LB media recipe
The recipe below is used to prepare a 1 L LB media solution.
| Reagent | Weight / Volume |
| Tryptone | 10 grams |
| NaCl | 10 grams |
| Yeast extract | 5 grams |
| Distilled water | Up to 1 L |
How to make a 1 L LB media solution
- Weigh out 10 g tryptone, 10 g sodium chloride (NaCl) and 5 g yeast extract and add to a 1 L Duran bottle.
- Measure out approximately 900 mL of distilled water and add to the Duran bottle.
- Shake the bottle to dissolve the reagents.
- Once the reagents have fully dissolved, adjust the pH to 7.0 by using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution (1 N).
- Once the pH is adjusted, top up the solution to 1 L by using distilled water.
- To sterilise, autoclave the solution on a liquid cycle (20 min at 15 psi).
Storage of LB media
Store LB media at room temperature (+15oC – +25oC) or in the fridge (+4oC).
Safety
LB media is not classified as a hazardous substance.
Thanks for your LB media tutorial, I’m using it to create media in order to screen different bacterial species for the AHLs they may produce. I don’t have money to buy you a coffee unfortunately, but please know that your effort and work is appreciated!