This 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. The phenolated fluorescent dye is used to stain acid fast bacilli. The advantage of a fluorescent procedure is that the acid-fast organisms appear as bright fluorescence against a dark background. Mycobacteria decolourizer is used for decolorizing the non-acid fast bacteria or other cellular matter ; whlile Potassium permanganate is used as counter stain.