The Gimenez staining technique uses
biological stains to detect and identify
bacterial
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were amon ...
infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dis ...
s in
tissue samples. Although largely superseded by techniques like
Giemsa staining
Giemsa stain (), named after German chemist and bacteriologist Gustav Giemsa, is a nucleic acid stain used in cytogenetics and for the histopathological diagnosis of malaria and other parasites.
Uses
It is specific for the phosphate groups o ...
, the Gimenez technique may be valuable for detecting certain slow-growing or
fastidious
A fastidious organism is any organism that has complex or particular nutritional requirements. In other words, a fastidious organism will only grow when specific nutrients are included in its medium. The more restrictive term fastidious microorga ...
bacteria.
Basic
fuchsin
Fuchsine (sometimes spelled fuchsin) or rosaniline hydrochloride is a magenta dye with chemical formula C20H19N3·HCl. stain in
aqueous
An aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is mostly shown in chemical equations by appending (aq) to the relevant chemical formula. For example, a solution of table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), in water would be re ...
solution with
phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it ...
and
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
colours many bacteria (both
gram positive
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Gram-positive bact ...
and Gram negative) red, magenta, or pink. A
malachite green
Malachite green is an organic compound that is used as a dyestuff and controversially as an antimicrobial in aquaculture. Malachite green is traditionally used as a dye for materials such as silk, leather, and paper. Despite its name the dye is ...
counterstain
A counterstain is a stain with colour contrasting to the principal stain, making the stained structure easily visible using a microscope.
Examples include the malachite green counterstain to the fuchsine stain in the Gimenez staining technique ...
gives a blue-green background cast to the surrounding tissue.
See also
*
Histology
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vi ...
*
List of common staining protocols
*
Microscopy
References
* P. Bruneval ''et al.''.
Detection of fastidious bacteria in cardiac valves in cases of blood culture negative endocarditis. ''Journal of Clinical Pathology''. 54:238-240 (2001).
* D.F. Gimenez. "Staining Rickettsiae in yolksack cultures". ''Stain Technol'' 39:135–40 (1964).
{{bacteria-stub
Staining