Establishment of autoclave conditions for disaccharide-containing liquid media using spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography.

Disaccharides undergo heat-induced hydrolysis, generating monosaccharides. In Japan, 10% sucrose solution autoclaved at 121 °C for 10 min is commonly added to basal media, but this caused false-positive fermentation for Shigella spp. Spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography showed that autoclaving at 105 °C for 10 min suppressed hydrolysis and prevented false positives.