Lab Two Flashcards
How thick does the smear need to be?
Thin, but still thick enough to see some cells
what happens when the smear is too thick?
it is hard to see individual cells
What does heat fixing do?
kills the organism
adheres the organism to the slide
alters the organism so it can readily pick up stain
What is a stain?
A stain is a substance that adheres to a cell and gives it colour.
What can different stains be used for?
Different stains have different affinities for different organisms or parts of organisms and so they can be used to differentiate organisms or parts of organisms
what is the general purpose of staining?
to make bacteria contrast against the background so that they are easier to see.
What is a differential stain?
distinguish between two types of bacteria
Typically two or more reagents
what is a negative stain?
the background is stained and the living bacteria are not. Uses a single reagent
-also called indirect staining
what is a simple stain?
the dead bacterium takes up the stain and the background does not.
-also called direct staining
what is an acidic stain?
Have a negative charge and have an affinity for positive cell components. A negative dye will stay outside a negative cell wall.
what are some examples of acidic stains?
nigrosin
india ink
picric acid
what is a basic stain?
Have a positive charge and have an affinity for negative cell components. A positive dye will go inside the negatively charged cell wall
what are some examples of basic stains?
methylene blue
crystal violet
carbol fuchsin
safranin
what is a decoloriser?
Lipid solvent for gram-negative cells (alcohol dissolves the outer lipid layer, the cell looks colourless). Protein dehydrating agent is gram positive cells (cell pores shrink as they are dehydrated by the alcohol, limited or no removal of the primary stain)
what is a mordant?
often used to fix dyes in cells, making it more difficult to decolourise.
how do you heat fix a smear?
smears must be completely dry before heat fixing
The heat fix, pass the underside of a slide through a bunsen flame three times
what happens when you heat fix too little?
the smear will wash off
what happens when you heat fix too much?
the organisms may be incinerated
what are the steps to heat fix a smear from a solid media?
- place a clean slide on blotting paper
- flame loop to sterilise
- place a loopful of saline towards one end of the slide
- flame the loop again and cool
- remove a small amount of one colony and transfer to the drop of saline
- mix the cell into the saline drop and spread the suspension
- flame the loop
- allow the smear to air dry completely
- heat fix the smear
what are the steps to heat fix a smear from a liquid media?
- place a clean slide on a piece of blotting paper
- flame loop
- place a loopful of the sample towards one end of the slide
- use the loop to spread the sample
- flame the loop
- allow the smear to air dry completely
- heat fix the smear
what does a gram stain tell us?
gives information about the cell morphology and gram reaction.
what is the gram stain result for gram-positive cells?
Bacteria that retain the primary stain (crystal violet) appear purple and are gram-positive.
what is the gram stain result for gram-negative cells?
Bacteria that are decolourised and then counterstained by safranin appear pink and are designated gram-negative.
what reasons might a gram-positive (purple) cell appear gram-negative (pink)?
- because the culture is old and the cell walls have started to lose their structure
- over decolorisation with alcohol
what determines whether the cell is gram-negative or gram-positive?
The amount of peptidoglycan in the cell wall
What is the primary stain in gram staining?
crystal violet
what is the decolorising agent in gram staining?
ethanol
what is the counterstain in gram staining?
safranin
what is the mordent in gram staining?
iodine