Schaeffer–Fulton stain

The Schaeffer–Fulton stain is a technique designed to isolate endospores by staining any present endospores green, and any other bacterial bodies red.^[1] The primary stain is malachite green, and the counterstain is safranin, which dyes any other bacterial bodies red.

Endospores cannot be stained by normal staining procedures because their walls are practically impermeable to all chemicals. The Schaeffer- Fulton endospore stain uses heat to drive the primary stain(malachite green) into the endospore. After cooling, the slide is decolorized with water and counterstained with safranin.

Procedure

Using an aseptic technique, bacteria are placed on a slide and

After drying, the slide can then be viewed under a light microscope.

History

The procedure was designed by Alice B. Schaeffer and MacDonald Fulton, two microbiologists at Middlebury College, during the 1930s. The procedure also goes by the name Wirtz-Conklin method, referring to two bacteriologists during the 1900s.^[2]

See also

• Moeller stain

References

This microbiology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e