Hi Mark!

Agar well diffusion and Agar disc diffusion are both used to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility or properties of microorganisms seen in plant extracts, plant-derived compounds, and secondary metabolites.

Agar well diffusion is known for its simplicity in performing the method, paired with low cost materials, like the disc diffusion. However, agar well diffusion provides a more sensitive test result than the latter and if you are to test cationic compounds, this method would be your best choice.

Hope this helps!

Reference:

Sonje, M., Knežević, S., Abram, M. (2020). Challenges to Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Plant-derived Polyphenolic Compounds. National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved on February 23, 2023 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7968511/#j_aiht-2020-71-3396_ref_017

Agar well and disc diffusion methods are two forms of antimicrobial susceptibility testing techniques known as agar diffusion methods. It is additionally used in antimicrobial testing for plant extracts and secondary metabolites to determine the extract's capacity to inhibit the microorganism

The primary advantage is that the agar well method allows for the determination of an antimicrobial agent's minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), which refers to the lowest concentration that suppresses the development of the microorganism that is being tested. Unlike the agar disc diffusion method, which yields only qualitative results. Furthermore, as compared to agar disc, the agar well method allows you to load more samples into a well at one time.

Reference:

Udayangani, S. (2020). Difference Between Agar Well and Disc Diffusion Method. Retrieved on September 3,2023 from https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-agar-well-and-disc-diffusion-method/