Correlation Between A Cell And Its Background

5. Take the tweezers and cover the tips in alcohol before holding over the flame of the candle (this sterilized the tweezers).

* Clean the instruments after use and put away when finished in the correct place

The tweezers were then sterilized by dipping them in methanol and passing them through the flame. They were then held and allowed to cool for 30 seconds.

The next step of the project included preparing a Gram stain to discover the cell shape, arrangement, and if the bacteria is gram positive or

1) Apply the stain to your first unknown slide and examine it under the microscope.

Turn on the gas burner and bring it a low heat, only to the point that there is a blue flame. Carefully push the gas burner under the crucible and heat for around two minutes in order to properly rid the crucible of any bacterias or other impurities that may affect the lab.

Lastly, safranin was added to flood the slide and was left on for 1 minute and rinsed with distilled water. After adding all 4 reagents, the slide was blotted dry with a paper towel to remove any excess reagents or water. The slide was then placed on a microscope stage to look for the color of the bacteria. When ready for the highest power on the microscope, immersion oil was added to the slide and looked at under 100x power. A glucose test and citrate test were found to be the best two tests to help narrow down the bacteria.

A ring stand and ring clamp were set up with a Bunsen burner an inch below to allow for the optimal heating. The Bunsen burner was not lit at this time.

Then, light the paper in a couple of areas and watch until the coals at the bottom begin to light up. You will know that they have caught the flames once you hear a soft

Prepare a burning station with a pipette, test tube, a cork with a pin to secure the kernel on, matches or a lighter. Make sure to have pencil and paper nearby to record data.

The slide was then placed on the rack and in the staining tray. The smear was then gram stained in these four steps (After each step, the smear should be gently washed with tap water): The smear was flooded with Crystal Violet (primary stain) and let it stand for one minute. After one minute it was rinsed with water.

Place a clean, dry crucible and its cover on a clay triangle on a ring stand over a Bunsen burner. Adjust the height of the ring so the bottom of the crucible will be in the hot part of the flame. Place the cover so it is slightly ajar, allowing air to leave the crucible.

When viewing the unstained cheek cells, the amount of light did not have an effect on viewing the slide; meaning that the cells were not visible until they were stained.

2. Making the smear: Place a small drop of blood near an end of a slide. Bring the edge of another slide in contact with the drop and allow the drop to bank evenly behind the spreader. The angle between the two slides has to be 30-40 degrees. Now, push to the left in a smooth, quick motion. The smear should cover about half the slide.

To prepare a wet mount slide you begin with the substance at hand. The specimens studied in the laboratory using this type of slide were a hay infusion, a yeast suspension, and the mold specimen. For the hay infusion you begin with placing two drops of the suspension in the center of a clean microscope slide using a transfer pipet. The specimen must be immediately covered with a cover glass completing the wet mount slide. The yeast suspension is transferred from the tube to the slide using a flame sterilized inoculating loop. Immediately cover the specimen with a cover glass. The stained yeast suspension is prepared the same way except that the suspension is mixed with a drop of lactophenol cotton blue placed on the slide prior to transferring the yeast. The mold must be cut from the petri plate and placed on top of the drop of lactophenol cotton blue already placed on the microscope slide. After it is covered it may be studied under the microscope.