Phenolic acridine orange fluorescent stain for mycobacteria.
A new fluorescence acid-fast staining method with acridine orange as the specific stain is presented. Only two reagents are required: the acridine orange-specific stain and a destaining-counterstaining reagent. Compared with auramine fluorescence acid-fast staining, there was less nonspecific staining of non-acid-fast debris which fluoresced a pale green contrasting color to provide a background in which to search for the red-to-orange fluorescing acid-fast bacilli. The results of the study indicate that the acridine orange method is superior to the auramine method in detecting acid-fast bacilli in specimen smears.
Smithwick
R W
RW
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Bigbie
M R
MR
Ferguson
R B
RB
Karlix
M A
MA
Wallis
C K
CK
D000143:Acids; D000165:Acridine Orange; D001576:Benzophenoneidum; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000166:cytology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
D000143:Acids; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D001576:Benzophenoneidum; D000165:Acridine Orange