Open AccessAn investigation of hydroethidine as a fluorescent vital stain for prokaryotes
Author(s) -
Swannell R.P.J.,
Caplin R.,
Nedwell D.B.,
Williamson F.A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05773.x
Subject(s) - ethidium bromide , fluorescence , microorganism , vital stain , orange (colour) , stain , biology , biochemistry , chemistry , biophysics , bacteria , food science , staining , dna , physics , genetics , quantum mechanics
Hydroethidine (HE), manufactured by the chemical reduction of ethidium bromide (EB), was found to be decomposed to a bright red‐fluorescent product by a range of microorganisms. Therefore, HE seemed to have potential as a fluorescent vital stain for microorganisms. However, inhibited or killed bacterial cultures still fluoresced red. Short periods (2–4 min) of excitation of sterile solutions of HE with a UV light yielded an orange/red product. Thus, HE seems to be decomposed biologically by a number of microorganisms but also abiotically by UV light‐mediated process to red fluorescent material. These observations suggest that the oxidation of HE has only limited potential for assessing microbial activity.