Zeitschrift für biomedizinische und pharmazeutische Wissenschaften

Minimum Inhibitory Concentration

Abstract

Wen-Cai Ye

In microbiology, the minimum inhibitory concentration is the lowest concentration of a chemical, usually a drug, which prevents visible growth of a bacterium or bacteria. MIC depends on the microorganism, the affected human being and the antibiotic itself. It is often expressed in micrograms per milliliter or milligrams per literThe MIC is determined by preparing solutions of the chemical in vitro at increasing concentrations, incubating the solutions with separate batches of cultured bacteria, and measuring the results using agar dilution or broth micro dilution. Results have been graded into susceptible often called sensitive increased exposure or resistant to a particular antimicrobial by using a breakpoint. Breakpoints are agreed upon values, published in guidelines of a reference body.