Final answer:
The Mueller-Hinton agar is the typical media used for antimicrobial sensitivity testing, mainly with the standardized Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test in clinical laboratories to measure bacterial susceptibility or resistance to antibiotics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of media mainly used to perform antimicrobial sensitivity testing is the Mueller-Hinton agar. One of the most common methods utilizing this medium is the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test. In this assay, filter paper disks impregnated with known amounts of antimicrobial agents are placed on the agar that has been inoculated with the bacterial pathogen in question. As the bacteria grow, the antibiotic diffuses into the agar, resulting in a clear zone of inhibition if the bacteria are susceptible to the antimicrobial. The diameter of this zone is measured to determine bacterial resistance or susceptibility based on standardized charts.
Other methods, such as the Etest, utilize a gradient of an antibacterial on a plastic strip to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against bacterial isolates. However, the Kirby-Bauer method remains a widely accepted and standardized technique for initial antimicrobial susceptibility testing in clinical laboratories.