VARIABLE FIXATION OF STAPHYLOCOCCAL SLIME BY DIFFERENT HISTOCHEMICAL FIXATIVES

A variety of histochemical fixatives were used to compare the fixation of bacterial films produced by a standard slime-producing strain of S taphylococcus epidermidis on plastic tissue culture plates. Some reage nts were completely ineffective in fixing the slime layer, whereas oth ers gave variable results. The best alternative to the fixative of the reference method, the potentially explosive Bouin's reagent, was air drying.