Acid-fast stain is specifically used to detect mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which are resistant to decolorization by acid-alcohol after staining with carbol fuchsin. This staining technique helps in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections.
Mycobacterium species, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are the bacteria commonly used in acid-fast staining due to their high lipid content in the cell wall, which makes them resistant to destaining with acid-alcohol solutions. This characteristic allows them to retain the primary stain, carbol fuchsin, and appear "acid-fast" red under the microscope.
Carbol fuchsin is a histological stain used in microbiology to detect acid-fast bacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is commonly used in the Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique, where acid-fast bacteria retain the stain even when washed with acid-alcohol. This property helps in identifying these bacteria under the microscope.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an acid fast bacterium. It has a high concentration of mycolic acids in the plasma membrane which prevent its staining by typical Gram stain methods. It must be stained with a procedure containing an acid decolorizing step to best visualize it under the microscope (Ziehl Nielson or Kinyon Methods). It resists decolorization with the acid, which is where the term "Acid Fast" comes from....
Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteria are weakly acid-fast, meaning they retain some of the carbol fuchsin stain when decolorized with acid-alcohol during acid-fast staining. This makes them appear weakly positive in acid-fast staining techniques.
Cell walls that are acid-fast contain a high content of mycolic acids, which are unique long-chain fatty acids. This composition makes the cell walls resistant to staining by conventional dyes, such as the acid-fast staining technique using carbol fuchsin. Acid-fast bacteria include the genus Mycobacterium, which causes diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy.
The most common stain used for staining Mycobacterium is the acid-fast stain, such as the Ziehl-Neelsen stain or the Kinyoun stain. These stains target the mycolic acid in the cell wall of Mycobacterium, causing them to resist decolorization and appear red/pink under a microscope.
No. safranin is the classic stain used in gram staining. Concentrated Carbol Fushin is mainly used for the ZN staining procedure to stain organisms such as Vibrio cholerae and Cryptosporidium. Diluted Carbol Fushin can however be used as a replacement counterstain for Safranin in the gram stain.
Yes, carbol fuchsin is an acidic dye. It is commonly used in microbiology to stain acid-fast bacteria such as Mycobacterium species.
It acts as the mordant to soften the mycolic acid so that the stain can penetrate the cell.
Ziehl-Neelsen staining is primarily used for the detection of acid-fast bacilli, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. The staining procedure involves using a red dye called carbol fuchsin, which helps identify the presence of these bacteria based on their ability to retain the dye despite washing with acid-alcohol. Additionally, Ziehl-Neelsen staining is commonly employed in diagnosing other mycobacterial infections besides tuberculosis, such as leprosy.
Other groups of microorganisms considered acid-fast or partially acid-fast include Nocardia, Rhodococcus, and Cryptosporidium. These organisms have cell walls that retain carbol fuchsin dye despite decolorization with acid-alcohol.