New anaerobic methods

Our plain-English summary of New anaerobic methods, by W.G. Smillie (The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1917).

The study

• Author: W.G. Smillie
• Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine
• Published: 1917;26(1):59-66
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

1. Anaerobic methods have been devised which depend upon the catalytic action of platinized asbestos upon hydrogen and oxygen. 2. The methods may be utilized for the growth of anaerobes in test-tubes, upon Blake bottles, in flasks, and in a large container. 3. Because oxygen is so completely removed, the methods are of great value in the successful cultivation of absolute anaerobes.

In plain English

This 1917 paper from The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research described equipment for growing anaerobic microorganisms, from partial anaerobes such as the tetanus bacillus to absolute anaerobes. It did not study asbestos exposure or any health effect of asbestos. Platinized asbestos appeared only as a catalyst that made hydrogen and oxygen combine into water, removing oxygen from culture containers. The author described versions for test-tubes, a large jar, Blake bottles and flasks. In the test-tube version, an electrically heated catalyst was reported to always remove the oxygen, whereas Laidlaw's earlier method frequently failed. With it, the fusiform bacillus grew profusely. The globoid bodies of poliomyelitis formed colonies after 6 to 7 days, but only from fluid subcultures, never directly from brain and cord. The author stated that the jar process should take about 15 minutes; in the Blake bottle, oxygen was replaced in 5 minutes. The perforated-bulb design was not satisfactory in single test-tubes. The author warned that air rushing in mid-process could cause a slight explosion. The author concluded that the methods were of great value for growing absolute anaerobes.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Description of new laboratory methods (bacteriological technique paper); not a study of asbestos health effects
• Who was studied: No human or animal subjects. Cultures of anaerobic microorganisms were grown at The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. These included partial or relative anaerobes (tetanus bacillus, Bacillus botulinus) and stricter or absolute anaerobes (fusiform bacillus, globoid bodies of poliomyelitis). The paper was published in 1917.
• Exposure: Platinized asbestos used as a laboratory catalyst to remove oxygen; no fiber type named and no human exposure studied
• Main results:
  • In test-tubes, the electrically heated catalyst method always removed the oxygen, whereas the Laidlaw method frequently failed
  • With the test-tube method, the fusiform bacillus grew profusely
  • Globoid bodies of poliomyelitis showed no growth for 4 to 5 days. Colonies appeared at 6 to 7 days, and some reached about 1 mm in diameter
  • Growth of the poliomyelitis globoid bodies was never obtained directly from the original brain and cord material, only from fluid culture tubes
  • The author stated that the anaerobic jar process should take about 15 minutes (a guide figure, not a reported measurement)
  • In the Blake bottle, oxygen was replaced by hydrogen in 5 minutes
  • The author stated there was no explosion danger in the jar when used correctly, but warned of a possible slight explosion if air rushed in over the catalyst during the process
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that, because oxygen is so completely removed, the methods are of great value in cultivating absolute anaerobes
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The perforated-bulb design was not satisfactory in single test-tubes because of the small air space
  • Results obtained with these methods, particularly the jar, were left for a later paper

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