Difference in Result of the Fluorescent Antibody Staining of Dermatophytes Due to the Difference of Fixing Procedure

Abstract

Probable relationship between the intensity of the fluorescent antibody staining reaction of dermatophytes and fixing procedure of the smear was investigated.
Smears of dermatophytes, including Trichophyton rubrum, T. interdigitale, T. asteroides, Epidermophyton floccosum and Microsporum japonicum, were fixed by heating, by ethanol or by formalin, or left to be air-dried without fixation, and they were stained with either anti-T. rubrum or anti-T. interdigitale fluorescent antibody.
The experiments have led to the conclusion that of the fixing techniques employed heating was the most undesirable, for the smears fixed by heating could hardly be stained with any of the conjugates and they gave the most brilliant autofluorescence.