An agar slant tube (or simply an agar slant) is a screw-capped culture tube partly filled with an agar mix such as nutrient agar, R2A agar, or TSA (figure 1). To make it a slant tube the agar is allowed to cool with the tube laying at an angle, resulting in a large surface area for spreading a culture.

Is agar slant solid?

When agar media is placed in test tubes it is in liquid form. The test tubes are placed on an angle to cool and congeal, creating a slanted surface, or an agar slant.

What are slant cultures in microbiology?

Growing cultures of bacteria on solid media (agar plate or slant) permits us to view and identify colonial characteristics, and also provides a way to separate bacteria in a mixed culture.