An Electron Microscopic India Ink Technique for Demonstrating Capsules on Microorganisms: Studies with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

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Abstract
A technique using India ink in EM preparations was used to study bacterial capsules. Capsules were demonstrated on S. pneumoniae and S. aureus (strain M and the Smith diffuse variant) from in vitro cultures. Two types of false capsules were observed on N. gonorrhoeae grown in vitro or obtained from human urethral exudates. No true capsules were definitively identified on gonococci from these sources. The technique described does not require the use of specific anti-capsular antibody or specific polysaccharide stains and permits the detection of artifacts that may, by the use of light microscopic methods, be misinterpreted as capsules.

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