INFLUENCE OF CARBON‐DIOXIDE TENSION AND MEDIUM BUFFER CONCENTRATION ON MEDIUM pH AND MIC VALUES OF ERYTHROMYCIN FOR ESCHERICHIA COLI ATCC 25922 AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ATCC 25923 IN A MICRO‐AEROBIC ATMOSPHERE

The effect of an elevated carbon-dioxide tension on medium pH and MIC determination with erythromycin for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) was investigated in a micro-aerobic atmosphere, using an agar dilution method. During 30 h of incubation in an atmosphere containing approximately 6% CO2, 5% O2 and 89% N2, pH of uninoculated, as well as of seeded, blood agar plates decreased from 7.4 to 6.8. MIC values of erythromycin were two dilution steps higher after micro-aerobic incubation than after aerobic incubation. A decrease in agar pH during micro-aerobic incubation was eliminated by increasing the phosphate buffer concentration in the medium. However, MIC values of erythromycin remained high.