ZN Acid Fast Stains - Kit (contains S033, S005 and S022)

Acid Fast staining technique is useful for identification of the tubercle bacillus, other Mycobacteria, and Nocardia, which depends on the chemical composition of the bacterial cell wall. Because of the difficulty in staining these organisms with ordinary dyes, basic dyes in the presence of controlled amounts of acid are used. Generally, heat must be applied during the staining procedure, or wetting agents must be used, to aid dye penetration. Organisms exhibiting the property of acid-fastness, once stained, are not easily decolourized by alcohol. Non-acid fast organisms are decolourized by acid fast decolourizer and take up the counter stain.