Used for visualisation of fungal elements and structures. Mainly performed from fungal colonies and used for identification.
The phenol in the stain will kill any organisms while the lactic acid preserves fungal structures. Cotton blue stains the chitin in fungal cell walls. The same structures may be seen as with wet mount; however LPCB preparation can be made permanent.
How to prepare the LPCB stain
Concentrated phenol………………………20 mls
Lactic acid………………………………….20 mls
Glycerol………………………………………40 mls
Cotton blue(china blue)………………… …0.05g
Distilled water…………………………..20 mls
Dissolve cotton blue in distilled water, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
Procedure of Using the LFCB stain
1. Place 1 drop of LPCB on clean grease free slide.
2. Immerse fungal colonies with help of swab or Scotch tape or tease mount.
3. Apply coverslip gently.
4. Visualize under microscope at X10 then X40.
5. Record the findings
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