Revised Modified Steiner to Enhance Visability of Spirochetes

Abstract

A revised version of the modified Steiner for spirochetes is presented. Elimination of calcium and formalin pigment is essential for clear delineation when only a few microorganisms are present. This method allows greater precision, and the combined effect of low levels of silver nitrate (0.1%) and hydroquinone achieves reduced background staining. The method also uses 0.1% uranyl nitrate, which is less than 50% of that previously reported. Without pretreatment, the procedure takes approximately 25 min. (The J Histotechnol 18:57, 1995)

Keywords:

• Campylobacter jejuni
• silver nitrate
• spirochetes
• uranyl nitrate