Microorganisms

• Staining techniques for microorganisms

  • Wade Fite Technique
  • Nocardia
  • Bacteria
  • Grain Twort Stain
  • Brown & Brenn
  • Rapid Giemsa
  • Modified Steiner & Steiner Technique
  • Helicobacter
  • Toluidine Blue Stain
  • Cresyl Violet Acetate Method
  • H. pylori
  • Gimenez Method
  • Toluidine Blue in Sorenson's Buffer
  • Spirochete
  • Levaditi's
  • Warthin-Starry Method
  • Fungi
  • Grocott Methamine Silver
  • Actinomyces
  • Brown and Brenn
  • AFB
  • Ziehl-Neelsen Method
• Special stains


  • Acridine red 3B
  • Aniline Blue
  • Basic Fuchsin
  • Mayer's Carmalum solution
  • Celestine Blue
  • Congo Red
  • Crystal violet
  • Gentian violet
  • Iodine
  • Malachite green
  • Trichrome stain- Aniline Blue
  • Methylene Violet
  • Neutral red
  • Night Blue
  • Osmium Tetrooxide
  • Picric acid
  • Rhodamine B
  • Silver nitrate
  • Toluidine Blue
  • Victoria blue
• Osmium Tetroxide


  Used to stain fats, can also be used as a fixative for myelin and peripheral nerves for Electron Microscopy
• Rapid Giemsa stain is used for (Trypanosoma)
• Auramine-Rhodamine Fluorescent Method


  More sensitive but fades after prolonged exposure to UV light
• M. Leprae


  Stained using Wade Fite Technique
• L. Pneumophilia


  Stained using Dieterle Method
• Donovan Bodies


  Stained using Modified Steiner and Steiner Method
• Diphtheria


  Stained using Bismark Brown
• Viral Inclusions


  Stained using Lendrum's Phloxine - Tartrazine Method
• Leshmania, Malaria & Trypanosomes

  Stained using Rapid Giemsa, which differentiates WBCs
• Inclusion Conjunctivitis & Toxoplasma

  Stained using Rapid Giemsa
• Filamentous and Non-Filamentous Bacteria

  Stained using Modified Steiner
• Rickettsia and Viral Inclusion


  Stained using Macchiavello's Stain
• Periodic Acid Schiff


  Staining of carbohydrates, especially glycogen. May also stain mucoproteins, mucin, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, glycolipids, unsaturated lipids and phospholipids.
• Periodic Acid Schiff


  • Glycogen
  • Mast cell granules
  • Fibrin
  • Mucin
• Langhan's Iodine Method


  • Glycogen
  • Amyloid
• Metachromatic Staining


  • Glycosaminoglycans
• Metachromatic Toluidine Blue


  • Glycosaminoglycans
• Colloidal (Dialyzed) Iron Technique

  • Acid mucin
• Alcian Blue Technique


  • Acid mucopolysaccharide
• Combined Alcian Blue-PAS-hematoxylin Technique

  • Differentiate acid mucin from neutral mucin
• Southgate's Mucicarmine Technique


  • Encapsulated fungi: C. Neoformans
• Gomori's Aldehyde Fuchsin


  • Sulfated mucins
• Mucicarmine Stain


  • Mucin
• Fluorescent Acridine Orange Technique

  • Acid mucin and mucopolysaccharide
• Alcian Blue Stain


  Stains acid mucin blue in colon
• Periodic Acid Schiff


  Used for demonstration of glycogen, especially with diastase method
• Best Carmine Method


  Good affinity for glycogen, stains it bright red. Also weakly stains mast cell granules, fibrin and mucin.
• Langhan's Iodine Method


  Obsolete, not specific for glycogen, rapid but tends to fade
• Metachromatic Staining


  Azure A and Toluidine blue give red-purple stain
• Alcian Blue Technique


  Most popular method for acid mucin, stains it blue
• Combined Alcian Blue-PAS-Hematoxylin Technique

  Neutral mucins stained by PAS, acid mucin stained by Alcian blue
• Gomori's Aldehyde Fuchsin


  Demonstrates sulfated mucins, staining it purple
• Mucicarmine Stain


  Demonstrates mucin by adding aluminum hydroxide to carmine, stains it red
• Colloidal (Dialyzed) Iron Technique

  Absorbed onto tissue containing acid mucin at low pH, visualized by conversion to ferric cyanide
• Fluorescent Acridine Orange Technique


  Gives selective brilliant orange fluorescence, temporary and lasts 2 hours once mounted
• Alkaline Fast Green


  Stains basic proteins like protamines and histones
• Peracetic Acid-Alcian Blue


  Stains cystine and cysteine
• Sakaguchi's Test


  Stains arginine