microbiology chapter 14 test bank Related

Review microbiology chapter 14 test bank related questions and content

Nigrosin is a stain used in:

  • A. simple staining
  • B. gram staining
  • C. negative staining
  • D. acid-fast staining
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Nigrosin is used in negative staining, where the background is stained instead of the cells themselves. This technique helps highlight the morphology and structure of cells that may be damaged by traditional staining methods. Nigrosin is negatively charged and repels the negatively charged bacterial cells, resulting in a clear halo around the cells. This process is particularly useful for observing capsules and determining cell size and shape. The other options are incorrect because simple staining uses a single dye to color the entire cell, gram staining involves a series of dyes to differentiate between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and acid-fast staining is used to detect acid-fast organisms like Mycobacterium.