Petri Dish Guide: Types, Uses & Common Mistakes to Avoid

A Petri dish is a flat, circular laboratory dish that is primarily used for growing cultures by holding culture medium. The Petri dish is widely applied in microbiology, biotechnological, pharmaceutical studies, food testing, and teaching laboratories.

Despite being an easy-to-use object, even small mistakes may lead to problems during working with a Petri dish. Incorrect handling, contamination, inappropriate material, incorrect lid or vent design, as well as choosing an improper Petri dish, may cause contaminated cultures, uneven growth, sample damage, or waste of culture medium.

The purpose of this guide is to help you choose the proper Petri dish according to your laboratory purposes.