Useful for detecting fungal infection especially dermatophytes which usually resides in skin, hair and nails
KOH Preparation
1. Add a drop of KOH to a slide
2. Add the sample
3. Seal with a cover slip
4. Gently heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes if the sample contains keratin
5. KOH breaksdownkeratin for easier identification of fungi present in the sample
KOHwithCalcofluor white
Allows bettervisualization of fungi, the calcofluor white binds with the polysaccharides present in the chitinofthefungus, fungal elements fluoresceapple green depending on the filters used by the microscope
LactophenolCottonBlue
Used to fix tease and tape mounts from cultures, the combination of lactic acid, phenol and blue dye, kills, preserves and stains the organism
Tease Mount
Remove mycelium from the media using two needles, place it on the slide with a drop of LPCB stain, add a cover slip and examine microscopically at low and high magnification
Cellophane tape Mount
Press cellophane tape onto the surface, place the tape onto the slide with a drop of LPCB stain, examine, advantage is that the conidial arrangement is retained
Slide Culture
Useful for demonstrating the natural morphology of fungal structures and encouraging conidiation in some poorly fruiting fungi, can be preserved indefinitely for future comparison
Standard LPCB mount
Cultured mold from SDA/PDA are isolated and subjected to teasing and slide microscopy
SlideCulture
The agar is directly placed on top of the glass slide thus removing the teasing technique which disturbs the hyphal characteristics, conidial arrangement and fruiting structures
Sporangiospore - asexual spores produced internally within the sporangium (internal spore production)
Allows better visualization of fungi, the calcofluor white binds with the polysaccharides present in the chitin of the fungus, fungal elements fluoresce apple green depending on the filters used by the microscope
KOH with Calcofluor White
Used to fix tease and tape mounts from cultures, the combination of lactic acid, phenol and blue dye, kills, preserves and stains the organism