A Prompt Staining Process for Treponema, Leptospira and Rickettsia With Hypochlorous Acid as a Mordant

There have but not much been reported that hypochlorous acid solution was used to stain microoranisms, and authors may only refer that Watanabe (1) and Kanazawa (2) have used 0.3% solution of antiformin to stain Paschen's elementary bodies, while Anju (3) recommending the same reagent for flagellum-like substances of bacteria. While trying to destroy the grouping of diphtheria bacilli and to disperse them with antiformin, authors happened to find the following phenomenon:That when investigating the bacillus after Neiser's staining, the whole plasm of the bacteria were found stained into deep purple besides the chromatic bodies and even the bacteria of an old culture over one month were also found stained to the same degree as that of fresh culture after antif ormin treatment. Authors have carried out a research work herewith as into the effective element of antiformin and found that the chlorine of the hypochlorous acid within it was the essential substance for such effect, and after accomplishing various experiments, found such a staining process herewith wish to describe being of most significance.Authors have applied Treponema pallidum multiplied in rabbit-testicles, Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae in the serum-water or in the liver of infected guinea-pigs and Rickettsia prowaseki and mooseri maintained in the yolk-sac of infected chick-embryos.