Differential Staining

Differential Staining is a staining process which uses more than one chemical stain. Using multiple stains can better differentiate between different microorganisms or structures/cellular components of a single organism. Differential staining is used to detect abnormalities in the proportion of different white blood cells in the blood. The process or results are called a WBC differential. This test is useful because many diseases alter the proportion of certain white blood cells. By analyzing these differences in combination with a clinical exam and other lab tests, medical professionals can diagnose disease.

One commonly recognizable use of differential staining is the Gram stain. Gram staining uses two dyes: Crystal violet and Fuchsin or Safranin (the counterstain) to differentiate between Gram-positive bacteria (large Peptidoglycan layer on outer surface of cell) and Gram-negative bacteria.

Acid-fast Stains are also differential stains.

Further reading

• http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/bugdrug/antibiotic_manual/Gram2.htm The Gram Stain Technique

This article uses only URLs for external sources. Please consider converting them to the standard citations to ensure the article meets the HandWiki citation style. (2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This article does not cite any external source. HandWiki requires at least one external source. See citing external sources. Please help improve this article. Unsourced material may be removed in future. Find sources: "Differential staining" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

0.00 (0 votes) Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential staining. Read more