STABILIZED GENTIAN VIOLET

Of the many stains which serve the bacteriologist in the capacity of a differential stain, there is not any single stain which has so wide an application as the one known as Gram's. The only disadvantage in the use of the stain is that the gentian violet used deteriorates, and on that account should be freshly prepared when wanted. In a laboratory in which smears for gonorrhea are examined at frequent intervals, it is quite a convenience to have the differential stain, Gram's stain, made up ready for use, and it was this necessity which led us to experiment with different formulas as well as with different organic preservatives in an effort to find a method of stabilizing the gentian violet solution. CHEMICAL Gentian violet is a mixture of pentamethyl and hexamethyl pararosanilin, and belongs to the class of stains known as the triphenylmethane dyes. In the manufacture of this