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Sterile & Lab Equipment
Sterile Inoculation Loops
Single-use plastic loops, gamma-sterilised in the bag, for picking up spores from a print, syringe or liquid culture and streaking them onto an agar plate without flaming anything.
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Ready to use straight from the sealed pack. No flame, no cooling, no wait.
Gamma-irradiated in a sealed zip bag, so the loop is ready the moment you open it :: Calibrated loop :: Moulded polystyrene loop holds a set 1 microlitre, with a needle on the other end for stabs and single colony picks :: Disposable :: One loop per transfer, then bin it. No flaming, no cross-contamination between cultures
The short version
A sterile inoculation loop is a thin moulded stick with a small calibrated loop on one end and a pointed needle on the other. You use it to pick up a tiny amount of spore solution or mycelium and spread it across an agar plate.
Each loop comes gamma-sterilised in a resealable bag, so there is nothing to flame and nothing to cool down. Use one, then throw it away. A pack of 20 covers a good run of plates.
What it is
A clean tool for moving spores onto agar
The loop is moulded from medical-grade polystyrene. The ring on the working end is calibrated to hold a set volume of liquid, so it picks up a consistent, tiny sample each time. The opposite end is a fine needle, useful for stabbing into a slant or lifting a single colony off a plate.
Because each loop is sterilised by gamma radiation and sealed in a bag, you skip heating a wire loop in a flame and waiting for it to cool. You open the bag, take a loop, and use it. That is the main reason home growers reach for the disposable version.
Loops come in rigid and flexible types. Rigid loops are firmer for streaking and stabs; flexible loops bend without snapping. Either works for picking up and spreading a sample.
| Loop volume | 1 microlitre, calibrated |
|---|---|
| Material | Moulded medical-grade polystyrene |
| Ends | Loop one end, needle the other |
| Sterilisation | Gamma irradiation, sealed in a resealable bag |
| Use | Single use, then discard |
| Pack | 20 loops |
How to use it
Streaking spores onto an agar plate
Work in front of a still air box or flow hood, and lift the agar plate lid only as much as you need. Streaking drags the sample thinner and thinner across the plate, so toward the end you get single, well-spaced colonies you can later pick from.
Open one loop
Peel back the bag and take a single loop by the handle. Do not touch the loop or needle end against anything. Reseal the bag to keep the rest clean.
Pick up the sample
Touch the loop into your spore print, spore syringe drop, or liquid culture. The loop only needs to wet the ring. For mycelium already on agar, most growers cut a block with a scalpel, but the needle end can lift a small amount from the surface.
Streak across the agar
Glide the loop gently over the surface in a smooth line or spiral, moving outward so the sample thins toward the edge. Keep the pressure light. Pressing in gouges the gel and buries spores, which holds back germination.
Close up and dispose
Replace the plate lid, tape it, and label it. Throw the used loop away. Use a fresh loop for the next plate so you never carry one culture into another.
For a quadrant streak, use a fresh loop for each quarter and turn the plate about 90 degrees between them. That thinning across clean passes is what isolates single colonies. A metal loop is flamed between quarters; with disposables you just reach for the next one.
Storage and what it is not for
Keeping them sterile, and where they fall short
Store the loops in their resealable bag, kept closed, somewhere clean and dry at room temperature. While the bag is sealed and undamaged the loops stay sterile until you need them. Once a loop has left the bag and touched a surface, treat it as used.
A loop suits spores and liquid samples. For lifting a firm wedge of mycelium from agar, a scalpel gives a cleaner cut. The loop is not a measuring tool for your work here. The 1 microlitre figure is just the volume the ring holds, not something you dose by. These loops are lab equipment for microscopy and the lawful cultivation of gourmet and edible mushrooms, nothing more.
Common questions
Frequently asked
No. They are gamma-sterilised and sealed, so they are ready straight from the bag. Flaming a plastic loop would only melt it.
Plastic loops are meant for single use. Reusing one risks carrying contamination from one plate to the next, which defeats the point.
Use the loop for spores and liquid cultures. Use a scalpel to cut a block of mycelium from agar, since it gives a cleaner lift.
Use a fresh loop for each quarter, so four for one plate done properly. The fresh pass each time is what isolates single colonies.
It is the small, fixed volume the ring holds when you dip it. It keeps your sample size consistent. You do not need to dose by it.
Take one loop, then reseal the bag and keep it closed in a clean, dry place. The loops stay sterile while the bag is sealed.
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Supplied as laboratory equipment for microscopy and the lawful cultivation of gourmet and edible mushrooms in the UK.
We work hard to keep this information accurate and to cite reputable sources, but the occasional mistake can still slip through. Always check the product label and a current reference before relying on any figure for something important.