Methylene blue vital staining for Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes and epimastigotes

The morphological identification of Trypanosoma cruzi is currently considered to have a high specificity, but its sensitivity, which depends on the volume of the sample examined, is rather low. Trypanosome developmental stages suspended in blood, reduviid feces, and culture media are routinely searc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 2006-12, Vol.48 (6), p.347-349
Main Authors: Ferreira, Cláudio S, Bezerra, Rita C, Pinheiro, Ariadne A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Culture Media
Feces - parasitology
Methylene Blue
Reduviidae - parasitology
Staining and Labeling - methods
TROPICAL MEDICINE
Trypanosoma cruzi - classification
Trypanosoma cruzi - growth & development
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The morphological identification of Trypanosoma cruzi is currently considered to have a high specificity, but its sensitivity, which depends on the volume of the sample examined, is rather low. Trypanosome developmental stages suspended in blood, reduviid feces, and culture media are routinely searched for by means of fresh film examination (about 2 microL). High speed centrifugation of blood samples separates the buffy coat, where most trypomastigotes concentrate. As the parasites are transparent and colorless, their detection is mostly dependent on their motility. The fluorescent vital stain acridine orange has been used to enhance image contrast, as exemplified by the QBC (Quantitative Buffy Coat) technique. Staining blood, buffy coat, reduviid feces, and culture media samples with methylene blue (also a vital dye) is a means of producing sharp, well contrasted images of motile or non-motile T. cruzi developmental stages, only standard laboratory microscopes being required. Slides previously coated with a thin layer of methylene blue are used to stain fresh blood films. Photomicrographs exemplify the results of methylene blue staining applied to living and fixed parasites.
ISSN:0036-4665
1678-9946
0036-4665
DOI:10.1590/s0036-46652006000600009