Soft Loop Sterile

Quick Answer: Soft Loop Sterile is a disposable, pre-sterilised plastic inoculating loop with a flexible loop tip, used to pick colonies, streak agar plates and transfer small volumes of culture. Because this sterile inoculating loop arrives ready to use and is discarded after one transfer, it needs no flaming in a Bunsen burner.

Plastic Loops versus Flamed Wire Loops

The classic inoculating loop is a nichrome or platinum wire in a handle, heated to red heat in a flame before and after every transfer. Flaming works, but a wet loop can spatter live organisms as it heats, and it needs an open flame on the bench. A sterile plastic loop avoids both: take one from the pack, use it and drop it into disinfectant or a biohazard bag.

Soft describes the tip. A flexible plastic loop glides over the agar rather than digging in, which helps beginners produce clean streak plates without gouges. Loops are also made in calibrated volumes, often 1 microlitre and 10 microlitres, for semi-quantitative work such as urine culture; the volume of this listing can be confirmed with the order.

Plastic loops melt in a flame, so they never go near a Bunsen burner. The loop stays sterile only until it touches something, so hold it by the handle end and keep the tip away from benches, fingers and the outside of containers.

Specifications

Applications

• Streaking bacteria for isolated colonies
• Picking single colonies for subculture, Gram staining or biochemical tests
• Inoculating broths and slopes in teaching labs where flames are restricted
• Semi-quantitative plating of urine with a calibrated loop

Care & Handling

• Open packs only when ready, drawing loops out handle end first.
• Discard each loop after use into disinfectant or a biohazard container; never reuse it.
• Keep loops out of Bunsen flames and away from hot surfaces.
• Store packs dry and away from sunlight so the packaging stays intact.

Why Choose LabEquip

Microbiology teaching labs, hospital training units and quality-control labs use sterile loops to speed up plating and cut the aerosol risk of flaming. LabEquip supplies them in the Biology Lab Products range; they pair with gamma sterile Petri dishes for fully disposable plating. Ask about loop sizes through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does soft mean in Soft Loop Sterile?

It refers to the flexible plastic loop tip, which bends slightly on the agar instead of cutting into it. That makes smooth streaks easier and reduces damage to the medium.

Can a plastic inoculating loop be flamed?

No. The plastic melts in a flame. Sterile plastic loops are single-use and go into disinfectant or a biohazard bag after one transfer.

Are disposable loops as accurate as wire loops for transferring volume?

Calibrated plastic loops are made to deliver a nominal volume, such as 1 or 10 microlitres, and are widely used for semi-quantitative urine culture. A wire loop’s volume varies with how the wire is bent and how much it has been used.

Why use a sterile plastic loop instead of a wire loop?

It removes the need for a flame, avoids spattering when a wet wire loop is heated, saves time between transfers and gives a fresh sterile tip for every sample.

How do I streak a plate with a plastic loop?

Spread the inoculum over one quarter of the plate, then with a fresh loop drag a few lines from that section into the next, and repeat for the third and fourth sections. Colonies thin out towards the last section.

How should used loops be disposed of?

Drop them straight into a container of disinfectant or an autoclavable biohazard bag, and autoclave before final disposal. Never lay a used loop down on the bench.

Last Updated: September 2026