S.O.C. Medium

S.O.C. (Super Optimal broth with Catabolite repression) Medium is used in the final step of bacterial cell transformation to obtain maximal transformation efficiency of E. coli. Catabolite repression is achieved by providing glucose in the medium and thus creating optimal metabolic conditions for E. coli. In addition, high nutrient concentration allows cells to recover after the stress induced by transformation and achieve 2–3 fold higher efficiency as compared to recovery in LB medium.

S.O.C. Medium formulation
Composition: 2% tryptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 10 mM NaCl, 2.5 mM KCl, 10 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM MgSO₄, and 20 mM glucose.
S.O.C. medium has the same formulation as the rich S.O.B. (Super Optimal Broth) medium with additionally added 10 mM MgCl₂ and 20 mM glucose (as published by Hanahan in 1983).

Convenient, ready-to-use format
S.O.C. Medium is supplied as 10 x 10 mL bottles of ready-to-use liquid medium. 

Quality testing
Each lot of S.O.C. Medium is tested to ensure conformance with the most current approved product specifications. This currently consists of tests for pH, osmolality, sterility, and transformation efficiency using TOP10 E. coli.