Isolation and identification of bacterial contamination from used pens by using nutrient agar medium

The pen is a common writing instrument made of plastic or metal with a pointed tip used to apply ink to a surface.  Placing pen on dirty surfaces like other objects exposes it to contamination. In this study was conducted to isolate and identify the bacterial contamination of student’s pen in Sathyam International School, vellakoil, Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India by using nutrient agar medium. Samples were prepared using swabs moistened with sterile saline and streaked on nutrient agar plates. Out of 25 samples, 19 samples are contaminated by bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Escherichia coli having the highest amount and followed by Staphylococcus aureus having lowest amount colony forming capacity.