Vitek Saline

[Yersinia]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know *why* it is necessary to use a .45 or .5% saline 
solution, rather than a .85% saline solution, when preparing bacterial 
suspensions for identification on Vitek? I asked someone at work today, 
who could only say , about the .85% saline, "it doesn't work right," and 
our Keeper of the Vitek Cards (who also had no idea) told me she didn't 
want me "wasting" cards on the experiment I proposed (i.e., preparing the 
same known organism, such as S. aureus ATCC #6538 in solution with .45% 
saline and in .85% saline, then filling a GPI card with each/comparing 
the results and perhaps doing the same with E. coli #8739/GNI; P. 
aeruginosa #9027/NFC; B. subtilis #6633/BAC).

Well, I'm just really curious about this, hope someone out there knows! 
Thank you for your time.

Infectionately,
Yersinia.

"Hell no, let 'em grow!"