Define Principle for Simple Staining of Bacterial Cultures?
In simple staining, a single staining agent preferably a basic dye is used. Commonly used basic stains are carbol fuchsin, crystal violet and methylene blue. Different exposure times are used for different dyes, e.g. for carbol fuchsin 15-30 seconds, crystal violet 20-60 seconds and methylene blue 1-2 minutes. Being positively charged, these binds strongly to bacterial cells, which have negative charge on their cell surface. Simple staining gives idea regarding size, shape and arrangement of cells. Its value lies in its simplicity and ease of use.