Hi
Agar is the most commonly used gelling agent for preparing semisolid and solid plant tissue culture media. Agar has several advantages over other gelling agents. First, when agar is mixed with water, it forms a gel that melts at approximately 60°-100° C and solidifies at approximately 45°C; thus, agar gels are stable at all feasible incubation temperatures. Additionally, agar gels do not react with media constituents and are not digested by plant enzymes. The firmness of an agar gel is controlled by the concentration and brand of agar used in the culture medium and the pH of the medium. The agar concentrations commonly used in plant cell culture media range between 0.5 and 1.0%; these concentrations give a firm gel at the pH’s typical of plant cell culture media.
Another gelling agent commonly used for commercial as well as research purposes is Gelrite.
Regards
Ashwini
