c.i.-fluorescent-brightening-agent-28 and Mycoses

Fluorescent whiteners, such as Blankophor and Calcofluor white, bind to chitin and cellulose, and fluoresce when exposed to UV light. Detection of fungal elements from skin and nail samples was faster and more accurate using Blankophor compared with potassium hydroxide preparations and Calcofluor (sensitivity and specificity 100% and 86% vs. 83-90% and 84-88%, or 80% and 84%, respectively). Visibility was improved, and the procedures were simple, inexpensive and rapid, all of which are important considerations in a busy diagnostic laboratory.

Topics: Benzenesulfonates; Fluorescence; Fungi; Humans; Hydroxides; Mycoses; Nails; Potassium Compounds; Sensitivity and Specificity; Skin; Stilbenes

In search of an easy and quick method for the diagnosis of fungal and Acanthamoeba infections of the eye, the authors have used calcofluor white (CFW), a fluorescent brightener with marked affinity for chitin and cellulose which are present in the cell walls of fungi and cysts of Acanthamoeba. Paraffin-embedded tissues containing mycotic organisms were stained with CFW and examined under a fluorescent microscope. Several fungi such as Candida sp, Aspergillus sp, Phycomycetes, Fusarium solani, Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptococcus neoformans, Rhinosporidium seeberi, and others were studied. Trephine corneal biopsy specimens (2 mm) and methanol-fixed corneal scrapings containing Acanthamoeba sp were also examined. The walls of fungi and Acanthamoeba cysts stained bright greenish white in contrast to the reddish-orange background of the supporting tissues. The results demonstrate that the CFW method is a highly reliable and rapid technique for identification of mycotic organisms as well as cysts of Acanthamoeba. This method may also be applied in surgical pathology when performing frozen sections, as well as cytologic examination of corneal smears, vitrectomy specimens, and others.

Topics: Amebiasis; Benzenesulfonates; Eye; Eye Diseases; Humans; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Mycoses; Orbit; Orbital Diseases; Staining and Labeling

Calcofluor/Cellufluor (CFW) binds to fungal cell walls and causes them to fluoresce blue-green when illuminated with UV light. Retrospective and prospective studies were made to determine if CFW could be added to the Papanicolaou (PAP) stain procedure without altering diagnostic cytopathologic features while still allowing fungi to be identified. The retrospective study included 136 cytology specimens that were designated positive for fungus by PAP stain; these were stained with a 0.1% aqueous solution of CFW and examined by fluorescent microscopy. The overall agreement between the two methods in the detection of fungi was 90.4%. The incorporation of CFW into the PAP stain was tested at various points in the PAP stain sequence; optimum results were obtained when CFW was introduced after acid eosin. A total of 197 random, sequentially accessioned cytology specimens were stained with the PAP/CFW combination in the prospective study. The results indicate that detection of fungi by a combination of regular light and fluorescent microscopy was far more effective than was examination for the organisms by light microscopy alone.

Topics: Benzenesulfonates; Female; Humans; Mycoses; Papanicolaou Test; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Staining and Labeling; Vaginal Smears

Calcofluor and ink-potassium hydroxide preparations identified Fusarium solani, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans, the three most common ocular fungal pathogens, in scrapings, biopsy specimens, and tissue sections of corneal mycotic infections in rabbits. These stains also identified fungal organisms in specimens from four human patients with keratomycoses. Neither procedure requires more than a few minutes to perform or extensive training or experience to interpret. The specimen stained with calcofluor can be examined immediately, but may not identify all fungi. The more sensitive ink-potassium hydroxide preparation should be examined after 18 to 24 hours, and is less likely to provide false-positive results than the calcofluor method.

Topics: Animals; Benzenesulfonates; Contrast Media; Eye Diseases; Hydroxides; Ink; Keratitis; Mycoses; Potassium; Potassium Compounds; Rabbits