Hanging drop

For our second test for motility we prepared a hanging drop slide. First we applied a small amount of petroleum jelly on the edges of a coverslip. Next we used an inoculating loop to transfer our unknown bacteria to the center of the coverslip with a small drop of water. Finally we lowered the hanging drop slide onto the coverslip and made sure the slide was sealed to the coverslip. Turning the slide upside down created a hanging drop which we then observed under a microscope. When we showed our professor the bacteria he said they were “dancing bacilli bacteria.” The bacteria were semi motile, but not exactly swimming. We named a particular bacteria Jeffry just for kicks:)
Below is a youtube link to our hanging drop video:) enjoy!!
http://youtu.be/dm7rfOKXb4Q