Minimum bactericidal concentration

Minimum bactericidal concentration ( MBC) were defined in bacteriology that concentration of an antibiotic, where just 99.9 % of the pathogens can be killed within a fixed time period.

The MBK is next to the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) as a characteristic value for the effectiveness of an antibiotic as well as the assessment of the resistance of a pathogen. It is usually determined by a serial dilution of the antibiotic in log2 steps in a liquid nutrient medium and expressed in micrograms per milliliter ( g / ml ).

While the MIC can be determined in principle with any antibiotic, the MBK is only useful for those who can not only display an inhibitory, but also a killing ( bactericidal ) effect. These are, for example, aminoglycosides, gyrase inhibitors, penicillins.

• Microbiological test method