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

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.

Acidic Stains

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. 

Because microbes are small and translucent, we need to utilize other techniques to visualize the different structures, even under high levels of magnification and resolution.

Creating Contrast

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Pigments added to specimens that absorb light at specific wavelengths in order to create contrast.

Chromophores

Phosphorescence is when photons are absorbed, and then emitted later on. 

Phosphorescence

Fluorescent dyes can absorb UV or blue light to emit different colors of visible light. 

Fluorescent Dyes

Due to refraction, different electromagnetic radiation waves can be changed into a wavelength on the visible light spectrum, allowing humans to see it. 

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