Uses and Standardization of Stains 19 



Nearly 30 years ago the Stain Commission began trying to draw 

 up specifications for some of the most commonly used stains. 

 These specifications were published in the first edition of this 

 book. They did not prove very useful, however, and of recent 

 years no great attention has been paid to them. Much more 

 workable specifications have been secured during the last five 

 years with the cooperation of the National Formulary Committee 

 of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 



In several recent editions of the National Formulary, published 

 by the American Pharmaceutical Association, a section has been 

 included in which formulae of staining solutions are given. Origi- 

 nally there was no agreement between these formulae and the 

 ones recommended by the Stain Commission. Beginning in 1937, 

 however, it was decided that the National Formulary Committee 

 and the Commission on Standardization of Biological Stains should 

 cooperate in this matter. As a result of this cooperation there 

 have been several worth-while accomplishments : 



1. Specifications of the most important stains now on the certi- 

 fication basis have been drawn up and have been published in 

 recent editions of the National Formulary. These specifications 

 are partly chemical and spectrophotometric, but also contain de- 

 tailed statements as to how the stains should be tested as to their 

 behavior for biological purposes and state the results to be expected 

 from these tests. In every case these specifications have been 

 made to harmonize with the tests as actually performed by the 

 Stain Commission. 



2. The formulae of staining solutions given in the National 

 Formulary, in Staining Procedures, and in the Manual of 

 Methods for Pure Culture Study of Bacteria, published by the 

 Society of American Bacteriologists, have been compared and 

 studied critically with the object of publishing identical formulae 

 in all three places. This has resulted in a few charges from the 

 formulae given in early editions of this book. 



3. Another result of this cooperation has been to give the work 

 of the Stain Commission more of an official standing than it had be- 

 fore. The Stain Commission was originally formed as an entirely 

 unofficial organization and has never had any connection with any 

 government organization. The specifications of the United States 

 Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary, however, do have 

 official recognition. The publication of the seventh edition of the 

 Formulary, therefore, with its references to stains certified by the 

 Commission, has resulted in their official adoption for many pur- 

 poses throughout the United States. Most notable has been the 

 adoption by the United States Armed Services in connection with 

 purchases made by their procurement agencies. Inasmuch as the 

 seventh edition of the National Formulary was published at about 



