Important Fungal Stains Mycology Lab: • Calcofluor white - Fluorochrome that binds glucans and chitin in fungal cell wall; • Lactophenol Cotton Blue - Cotton blue (aka analine blue) dye stains chitin and allows visualization of fungal elements following scraping or tape preparation from culture Pathology: • Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) - Used to visualize host cell response to fungi but doesn't stain most fungi; exceptions are Aspergillus spp. and the Mucorales. • Grocott methenamine silver (GMS) - Stains fungal cell wall black • Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) - Stains polysaccharide component of fungal cell wall magenta Selected specific stains: • India ink - "Negative" stain that outlines the polysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus sp; not as sensitive as Ag detection for cryptococcal meningitis; some strains are reportedly acapsular. • Mucicarmine - Can be used to stain mucopolysaccharide capsule of Cryptococcus sp.; also stains Blastomyces and Rhinosporidium • Fontana-Masson - Silver stain used to detect melanin pigment in cell walls of Cyptococcus Dr. Nancy Wengenack. #Fungal #Stains #microbiology #microscopy #staining #diagnosis #fungi #fungus #comparison #table
