minimum inhibitory concentration

(noun)

This is the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial drug that prevents visible growth of a microorganism after overnight incubation with media.

Related Terms

Examples of minimum inhibitory concentration in the following topics:

  • Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)

    • Minimum Inhibitory Concentration is the lowest drug concentration that prevents visible microorganism growth after overnight incubation.
    • In microbiology, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial (like an antifungal, antibiotic or bacteriostatic) drug that will inhibit the visible growth of a microorganism after overnight incubation.
    • The minimum inhibitory concentration of the antibiotic is between the concentrations of the last well in which no bacteria grew and the next lower dose, which allowed bacterial growth.
    • To identify the lowest concentration required for a given antibiotic to inhibit bacterial growth, an identical amount of bacteria is introduced into wells of liquid media containing progressively lower concentrations of the drug.
    • Because bacterial growth made the media in well E5 cloudy and the media in well E4 is indistinguishable from clear media, this indicates that the minimum inhibitory concentration is between the drug concentrations in wells E4 and E5.

  • Antibiotic Classifications

    • The MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration) is the minimum concentration of drug which can kill 99.99% of the population.
    • High concentrations of some bacteriostatic agents are also bactericidal.
    • The MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) is the minimum concentration of drug which can inhibit the growth of the microorganism.

  • Kirby-Bauer Disk Susceptibility Test

    • The size of a zone of inhibition in a KB test is inversely related to the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), which is the amount of antibiotic required to prevent bacterial growth in an overnight culture.

  • Factors that Affect Germicidal Activity of Chemicals

    • Chlorhexidine Gluconate: A biguanidine derivative, used in concentrations of 0.5–4.0% alone or in lower concentrations in combination with other compounds, such as alcohols.
    • Octenidine dihydrochloride: A cationic surfactant and bis-(dihydropyridinyl)-decane derivative, used in concentrations of 0.1–2.0%.
    • Phenol is germicidal in strong solution, inhibitory in weaker ones.

  • Biofilms

    • Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, including cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics.
    • Nitric oxide has also been shown to trigger the dispersal of biofilms of several bacteria species at sub-toxic concentrations, so it shows potential for use in the treatment of patients that suffer from chronic infections caused by biofilms.

  • Biofilms and Infections

    • Microbes form a biofilm in response to many factors, which may include cellular recognition of specific or non-specific attachment sites on a surface, nutritional cues, or in some cases, by exposure of planktonic cells to sub-inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics.
    • This accumulation of microorganisms subject the teeth and gingival tissues to high concentrations of bacterial metabolites which results in dental disease.

  • Antimicrobial Peptides

    • In general the antimicrobial activity of these peptides is determined by measuring the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), which is the lowest concentration of drug that inhibits bacterial growth.

  • DNA Protection Analysis

    • By varying the concentration of the DNA-binding protein, the binding affinity of the protein can be estimated according to the minimum concentration of protein at which a footprint is observed.

  • Osmotic Pressure

    • It is also defined as the minimum pressure needed to nullify osmosis.The phenomenon of osmotic pressure arises from the tendency of a pure solvent to move through a semi-permeable membrane and into a solution containing a solute to which the membrane is impermeable.
    • Osmosis causes water to flow from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration until the two areas have an equal ratio of solute to water.
    • Doing this requires a concentration of salt of nearly 20%.

  • Rate of Microbial Death

    • The goal is to find out what is the minimum time needed to achieve acceptable level of sterilization for a specific purpose.
    • The killing agent can be different (e.g., heat, chemical with certain concentration) depending on the specific application.