What stain is used for Mycobacterium?

Two types of stains are used specifically for detection of mycobacteria: fluorochrome (recommended) and carbol fuchsin.

What is the fluorescent stain used in the detection of Mycobacterium?

Rhodamine auramine stain
Rhodamine auramine stain is used for the detection of mycobacteria directly from clinical specimens. The dye binds with the mycolic acids and fluoresces under ultraviolet light. Acid fast organisms (mycobacteria) will appear yellow or orange under ultraviolet light.

What is the advantage of fluorochrome staining?

Comparable results in identifying bacterial numbers and morphology have been obtained with the fluorochrome method and carbol-fuchsin stains. The fluorochrome stain has a definite advantage in the ease and speed in identification of small numbers of myco- bacteria under low-power magnification.

What color does Mycobacterium tuberculosis stain?

Under the microscope, the bacillus is seen as a bright red rod, while the surface that it grows on is colored blue. All bacteria that react in this way to a Ziehl-Neelsen stain are called acid-fast bacteria.

Which stain would be the best choice for detecting Mycobacterium?

Ziehl–Neelsen staining is a bacteriological stain used to identify acid-fast organisms, mainly Mycobacteria. It is named for two German doctors who modified the stain: the bacteriologist Franz Ziehl (1859–1926) and the pathologist Friedrich Neelsen (1854–1898).

What structural feature of the Mycobacterium causes it to be acid-fast?

The acid-fast stain is a differential stain used to identify acid-fast organisms such as members of the genus Mycobacterium . Acid-fast organisms are characterized by wax-like, nearly impermeable cell walls; they contain mycolic acid and large amounts of fatty acids, waxes, and complex lipids.

Why are Mycobacterium species resistant to staining?

What makes Mycobacterium resistant to staining? Mycobacterium has a waxy cell wall that contains mycolic acid, a complex lipid that prevents stains from penetrating the cell. The secondary stain in the acid-fast stain is methylene blue.

Why is Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensitive to fluorochrome stain?

Ziehl-Neelsen (hot), Kinyoun (cold) are still widely used methods to detect acid fast structures in these organisms in developing countries but sensitivity is high of fluorochrome stain. The acid fastness of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is due to having thick cell wall composed of waxes and lipids that has a high content of mycolic acid.

What are some of the limitations of flurochrome staining?

Limitations of Flurochrome Staining: A fluorescent microscope is required, which may be readily unavailable and also costly (limitation for developing countries) A positive staining reaction provides presumptive evidence of the presence of mycobacteria.

When to use auramine rhodamine fluorochrome staining?

Auramine-Rhodamine Fluorochrome staining also known as “Truant method of staining”, is used to visualize Acid fast bacilli (AFB). Ziehl-Neelsen (hot), Kinyoun (cold) are still widely used methods in developing countries. CDC recommends fluorochrome staining for detecting AFB in primary patient specimens.

Which is the best fluorochrome dye for acid fast staining?

( Note: Fluorochrome dyes used for acid-fast staining include Auramine O, and Auramine O in combination with another fluorochrome, Rhodamine B). Wash off the stain with distilled water. Flood slide with fluorescent decolorizer (i.e acid-alcohol) for 2-3 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with distilled water.