Gram stain is a multi-step staining procedure that differentiates bacteria by the structure of their cell wall

Gram Stain

Acid-Fast stains are used to determine whether or not a sample contains a *Mycobacterium* species, which have mycolic acid in their cell walls. Cells that contain the waxy mycolic acid will remain red like the primary stain, carbolfuchsin.

Acid-Fast Stains

Capsule staining often utilizes negative staining techniques like India Ink or Nigrosin to color the background, in order to visualize the encapsulated cells. Positively charged counterstains can also be used to view the cell with a clear capsule.

Capsule Stains

The Schaeffer-Fulton method is the most common method for viewing spores in a specimen. This method uses heat with the primary stain, malachite green, washed with water, and then counterstained using safranin. If endospores are present, green will remain visible in the cells. 

Endospore Stains

In flagella staining, a mordant, like tannic acid, is used to thicken the flagellum, if present, followed by pararosaniline or basic fuchsin to stain them.

Flagella Stains

Differential staining utilizes multiple different dyes to allow us to distinguish between different types of organisms. 

Methods of preparation to allow us to view and distinguish different cells and their structures that were otherwise translucent through the use of ionic salts in stains/dyes. 

Staining 

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Simple stains make all of the organisms in a sample appear to be one color through use of a positively charged dye. Some examples include: Crystal Violet, Methylene Blue, and Safranin.

Simple Stains

Differential Stains

Acidic stains are negatively charged stains that repel negatively charged cells or attract positively charged structures. Some examples include: Nigrosin and Congo Red.

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