Bacterial E.coli Growth Media
LB, SOB, SOC, 2x YT, TB (Terrific Broth), SB (Super Broth), and high density growth media
Product list of bacterial E.coli growth media
Commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media
bullet LB (Luria Bertani) Miller broth (1%NaCl): 1% peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and 1% NaCl
bullet LB (Luria Bertani) Lennox Broth (0.5% NaCl): 1% peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
bullet SOB medium (Super Optimal Broth): 2% peptone, 0.5% Yeast extract, 10mM NaCl, 2.5mM KCl, 10mM MgCl2 , 10mM MgSO4
bullet SOC medium (Super Optimal broth with Catabolic repressor): SOB + 20mM glucose
bullet 2x YT broth (2x Yeast extract and Tryptone): 1.6% peptone, 1% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
bullet TB (Terrific Broth) medium: 1.2% peptone, 2.4% yeast extract, 72 mM K2HPO4, 17 mM KH2PO4 and 0.4% glycerol
bullet SB (Super Broth) medium: 3.2% peptone, 2% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
High density bacterial E.coli growth media
bullet DNAGroTM medium: Support E.coli growth to OD600 = 30 - 50. Increase plasmid DNA yield 10 times over LB
bullet ProGroTM medium: Support E.coli growth to OD600 = 30 - 50. Increase protein yield 10 times over LB
bullet AutoXTM medium: Support E.coli growth to OD600 = 30 - 50. Increase protein yield 10 times over LB without adding IPTG
bullet DetoXTM medium: Reduce protein toxicity and support E.coli growth to OD600 = 30
bullet InduXTM medium: Support E.coli growth to OD600 = 30. Increase protein yield, solubility, stability and activity
bullet SecProTM medium: Increase secretary protein expression over 100 times than LB or TB
Applications of common media >... | special media >...
Commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media
LB, SOB, SOC, 2x YT, Terrific Broth (TB), and Super Broth (SB)
Applications of common bacterial growth media
bullet E.coli growth and propagation
bullet Plasmid DNA prep and production
bullet Protein expression and production
bullet Competent cell preparation
bullet Transformation
bullet Phage production
Medium Name
Applications
LB Miller Broth
E.coli growth and propagation; plasmid DNA and protein production
LB Lennox Broth E.coli growth and propagation; plasmid DNA and protein production
SOB Medium
Prepare high efficiency competent cells; plasmid DNA and protein production
SOC Medium Plasmid transformation and growth of competent cells
2x YT Medium Phage DNA production
Terrific Broth (TB) High yield protein and plasmid DNA production
Super Broth (SB) High yield plasmid DNA and protein production
More information of common bacterial growth media...>
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth media: LB Miller broth/LB Lennox broth
LB broth is the most commonly used medium in molecular biology for E.coli cell culture. Easy to make, fast growth rate of most E.coli strains, readily available and simple compositions contribute the popularity of LB broth. LB broth contains the enzymatic digestion product of casein commonly known as peptone (some vendors term it Tryptone), yeast extract, and sodium chloride. Peptone is rich in amino acids and peptides. Its amino acid and peptide compositions reflect those of casein. In addition to amino acids and peptides, yeast extract also contains nucleic acids, lipids and other nutrients which are needed for bacterial growth. LB can support E.coli growth OD600 2 to 3 under normal shaking incubation condition (250 rpm). The LB Miller Broth and LB Lennox Broth contain higher and lower sodium chloride levels respectively. There are minimal differences between the two formulations in most molecular biology studies with commonly used E.coli strains. Different bacteria strains may require different salt concentrations. The low salt formula is more often used in salt-sensitive antibiotic selections.
Our LB broth is best priced in the industry at 12 bottle packages.
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
High salt LB broth/LB medium: LB Miller Broth
1% peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and 1% NaCl
High salt LB broth/LB medium
Catalog # Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid LB Miller Broth
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40001 12
Sterilized liquid LB Miller Broth
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40002 20
Sterilized liquid LB Miller Broth
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40003 96
Sterilized liquid LB Miller Broth
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40004 180
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium high salt LB Broth/LB medium
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Low salt LB broth/LB medium: LB Lennox Broth
1% peptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
Low salt LB broth/LB medium
Catalog # Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox Broth
500 ml/bottle,1 bottle 40011 12
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox Broth
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40012 20
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox Broth
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40013 96
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox Broth
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40014 180
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium low salt LB Broth/LB medium
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth medium SOB
2% peptone, 0.5% Yeast extract, 10mM NaCl, 2.5mM KCl, 10mM MgCl2 , 10mM MgSO4
SOB is another commonly used rich media. It has twice as much peptone compared to LB. It is richer in amino acids and peptides. In addition, it contains magnesium Mg2+ which is required for high density cell growth. SOB can support E.coli growth to OD600 3 to 5 under normal shake flask conditions (250 rpm). It can support cell density to OD600 10 to 15 with increased aeration (350 rpm). E.coli cells growing in SOB will have higher transformation efficiency than those in a LB medium. SOB is commonly used to make high efficiency competent cells.
SOB medium
Catalog #
Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid SOB medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40031 30
Sterilized liquid SOB medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40032 50
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium SOB
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth medium SOC
2% peptone, 0.5% Yeast extract, 10mM NaCl, 2.5mM KCl, 10mM MgCl2 , 10mM MgSO4, 20 mM Glucose
SOC is the same as SOB except it contains 20 mM glucose. Glucose serves as a catabolic repressor in SOC medium. E.coli cells prefer to use glucose as a carbon or energy source. In the presence of glucose, cellular machineries that use other sugars will be repressed. At a concentration of 20 mM or 0.36%, it provides sufficient transcription repression for lacI repressed promoters at low cell density. Expression of recombinant proteins that may adversely affect host cell physiology is repressed. As a result, transformation reactions using SOC to grow the cells for one hour will have higher efficiencies than those using LB. SOC is commonly used in incubation after heat shock in the transformation reaction. When SOC is not available, adding 20 mM glucose to LB or any other commonly used rich media will result in similar transformation efficiency as that can be obtained from using SOC.
SOC medium
Catalog #
Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid SOC Medium
40 ml/tube, 1 tube 40021 12
Sterilized liquid SOC Medium
40 ml/tube, 2 tubes 40022 20
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium SOC
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth medium 2x YT broth
1.6% peptone, 1% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
2x YT broth is named in comparing its nutrition content to that of LB broth. It does have 2x as much yeast extract compared to LB broth, but it only has 60% (not exactly 2x) more peptone. Basically 2x YT is a richer medium than LB and can support higher cell density and a longer growth period for E.coli. 2x YT is originally formulated for the growth and maintenance of E.coli and its fibrous bacteriophage such as the M13 phage allows relatively large quantity phage production without exhausting the host.
2x YT broth or medium
Catalog #
Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid 2x YT Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40051 12
Sterilized liquid 2x YT Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40052 20
Sterilized liquid 2x YT Medium
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40053 115
Sterilized liquid 2x YT Medium
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40054 192
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium 2xYT broth or medium
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth medium TB or Terrific Broth
1.2% peptone, 2.4% yeast extract, 72 mM K2HPO4, 17 mM KH2PO4, and 0.4% glycerol
TB or Terrific broth is a phosphate buffered rich medium. In addition to 20% more peptone and 380% more yeast extract than LB broth, TB also has an added 0.4% glycerol as an extra carbon source. All these nutrients in TB can support E.coli growth to OD600 5 to 8 under normal shaking incubation conditions. TB is commonly used for protein expression and plasmid production in a laboratory scale.
Terrific broth or TB
Catalog #
Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40041 18
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40042 28
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40043 172
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40044 268
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium TB or Terrific Broth
Technical sheet | MSDS
Back to top ^ | Go to bottom v
Bacterial E.coli growth medium SB or Super Broth
3.2% peptone, 2% yeast extract, and 0.5% NaCl
SB or Super Broth has 220% more peptone and 300% more yeast extract than LB. Therefore SB is supper rich in peptone and yeast extract. We estimated that the major nutrients in peptone and yeast extract are still in excess well after cells reach saturation while trace nutrients are depleted in the same culture. SB is used for plasmid or protein production.
SB or Super Broth
Catalog # Price (US$)
Add to Cart l
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40061 18
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40062 28
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40063 172
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40064 268
Product literatures of bacterial E.coli growth medium SB or Super Broth
Technical sheet | MSDS
FAQs of commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media
1. How do you select a commonly used growth medium for a research project?
2. Why is LB broth the most used medium in many academic labs?
3. What is the difference between LB Miller and LB Lennox broths?
4. Will magnesium (Mg2+) increase the cell densities for commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media?
5. Will agitation increase the cell density for commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media?
6. What is the best commonly used E.coli growth medium for plasmid production?
7. What is the best commonly used E.coli growth medium for protein production?
8. What is the best commonly used E.coli growth medium for phage production?
9. What is the best commonly used E.coli growth medium for making competent cells?
10. What is the highest cell density that may be obtained from commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media?
Price list of commonly used bacterial E.coli growth media
Common Medium Cat # Price (US$) Add to Cart
Sterilized liquid LB Miller broth
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40001 12
Sterilized liquid LB Miller broth
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40002 20
Sterilized liquid LB Miller broth
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40003 96
Sterilized liquid LB Miller broth
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40004 180
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox broth
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40011 12
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox broth
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40012 20
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox broth
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40013 96
Sterilized liquid LB Lennox broth
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40014 180
Sterilized liquid SOC Medium
40 ml/tube, 1 tube 40021 12
Sterilized liquid SOC Medium
40 ml/tube, 2 tubes 40022 20
Sterilized liquid SOB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40031 30
Sterilized liquid SOB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40032 50
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40041 18
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40042 28
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40043 172
Sterilized liquid TB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40044 268
Sterilized liquid 2x YT broth
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40051 12
Sterilized liquid 2x YT broth
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40052 20
Sterilized liquid 2x YT broth
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40053 115
Sterilized liquid 2x YT broth
1 liter/bottle, 12 bottles 40054 192
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 1 bottle 40061 18
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
1 liter/bottle, 1 bottle 40062 28
Sterilized liquid SB Medium
500 ml/bottle, 12 bottles 40063 172
