Our objective was to examine Gram staining results following fixation of both gram-positive
(Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative
(Escherichia coli) bacteria using heat versus
methanol as means of fixation. In particular, we were
interested in evaluating the number of cells adhering to the slides following the Gram staining procedure. We also assessed the color of the Gram stained bacteria that were heat-fixed versus methanol-fixed. This research was completed exclusively by undergraduate students who were majoring in biology (Roland, Rossi, Weishalla, and Wolf), only one of whom had prior laboratory experience staining bacterial cells. Our overall goal was to determine
whether students with little or no experience in completing microbiology laboratory exercises might
achieve greater success in Gram staining and viewing bacteria using one method of fixation compared to the other.