m-HPC Agar

m-HPC Agar is used for the enumeration of heterotrophic organisms in water by the membrane filtration technique in a laboratory setting. m-HPC Agar is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions in humans.

m-HPC Agar, also known as m-Heterotrophic Plate Count Agar, was developed by Taylor and Geldreich in 1979. Monitoring the levels of heterotrophic bacteria, those microorganisms that can grow on minimal organic nutrients, is currently performed to indicate problems with treatment methods within distribution systems. There is evidence that heterotrophic bacteria are not hazardous to healthy individuals, but may be opportunistic pathogens capable of infecting individuals with impaired immune systems.

m-HPC Agar is used in standard methods for the detection of heterotrophic bacteria using the membrane filtration technique. The membrane filter technique is a microbiological method used in testing large volume samples. The concentration of larger samples on a membrane filter is a key benefit of the membrane filtration procedure. Several studies reported m-HPC Agar as a suitable alternate medium for standard total plate count agar.