Carbol fuchsin
Carbol fuchsin, carbol-fuchsin, carbolfuchsin, or Castellani's paint (CAS staining procedures. It is commonly used in the staining of mycobacteria because it has an affinity for the mycolic acids found in their cell membranes.
) is a mixture of phenol and basic fuchsin that is used in bacterialIt is a component of Ziehl–Neelsen stain, a differential stain.[1][2] Carbol fuchsin is used as the primary stain dye to detect acid-fast bacteria because it is more soluble in the cells' wall lipids than in the acid alcohol. If the bacteria is acid-fast the bacteria will retain the initial red color of the dye because they are able to resist the destaining by acid alcohol (0.4–1% HCl in 70% EtOH).[3] Additionally, it can be used for the staining of bacterial spores.
Carbol-fuchsin is also used as a topical antiseptic and antifungal.
References
- Angra P, Ridderhof J, Smithwick R (July 2003). "Comparison of two different strengths of carbol fuchsin in Ziehl-Neelsen staining for detecting acid-fast bacilli". J. Clin. Microbiol. 41 (7): 3459. doi:10.1128/JCM.41.7.3459.2003. PMC 165351. PMID 12843125.
- Selvakumar N, Rahman F, Rajasekaran S, et al. (August 2002). "Inefficiency of 0.3% carbol fuchsin in ziehl-neelsen staining for detecting acid-fast bacilli". J. Clin. Microbiol. 40 (8): 3041–3. doi:10.1128/JCM.40.8.3041-3043.2002. PMC 120628. PMID 12149374.
- Sokolovská, Ivana; Rozenberg, Raoul; Riez, Christophe; et al. (2003-12-01). "Carbon Source-Induced Modifications in the Mycolic Acid Content and Cell Wall Permeability of Rhodococcus erythropolis E1". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 69 (12): 7019–7027. Bibcode:2003ApEnM..69.7019S. doi:10.1128/AEM.69.12.7019-7027.2003. ISSN 0099-2240. PMC 309960. PMID 14660344.