The genre Mycobacterium includes a series of pathological species, such as M. tuberculosis, which is important for pathology laboratories to detect for a correct diagnosis. The Ziehl-Neelsen technique (ZNT) is the most commonly histochemical method used to detect these bacilli and uses a heated mixture of carbol-fuchsine, which contains basic fuchsine and phenol. Whereas the former component is responsible for the pinkish staining of acid-fast mycobacteria, the role of phenol is not completely understood and it has been suggested that its exclusion does not impact the detection ability of the ZNT. Since phenol is highly toxic and induces several injuries, the goal of this study is to determine the detection capacity of mycobacteria through a method that excludes the use of phenol. Accordingly, the GASMoC method, a modified ZNT that employs a solution of aqueous basic fuchsine heated at 37 °C, was tested on histological samples positive for mycobacteria and the results were compared to that of the ZNT. Data demonstrated that the GASMoC method was able to detect acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in all analyzed cases. Remarkably, microscopic inspection of mycobacteria was easier when the GASMoC method was applied. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that AFB detection does not require phenol and that the GASMoC method, a phenol-free technique, may substitute the ZNT in pathology laboratories.

中文翻译：

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GASMoC方法：一种无酚技术，用于检测抗酸杆菌。

分枝杆菌属包括一系列病理物种，例如结核分枝杆菌，这对于病理实验室检测正确的诊断很重要。Ziehl-Neelsen技术（ZNT）是用于检测这些细菌的最常见的组织化学方法，它使用了含有碱性品红和苯酚的羰基品红的加热混合物。尽管前一种成分可引起耐酸分枝杆菌的粉红色染色，但酚的作用尚未完全明了，并且有人提出，将其排除并不影响ZNT的检测能力。由于苯酚具有剧毒并且会引起多种伤害，因此本研究的目标是通过一种不使用苯酚的方法来确定分枝杆菌的检测能力。因此，GASMoC方法 在分枝杆菌呈阳性的组织学样品上测试了一种采用加热于37°C的碱性品红水溶液的改良ZNT，并将其与ZNT进行了比较。数据表明，GASMoC方法能够在所有分析病例中检测出抗酸杆菌（AFB）。值得注意的是，使用GASMoC方法时，分枝杆菌的显微镜检查更加容易。总之，我们的研究表明，AFB检测不需要酚，而GASMoC方法（一种无酚技术）可以替代病理实验室中的ZNT。当采用GASMoC方法时，分枝杆菌的显微镜检查更容易。总之，我们的研究表明，AFB检测不需要酚，而GASMoC方法（一种无酚技术）可以替代病理实验室中的ZNT。当采用GASMoC方法时，分枝杆菌的显微镜检查更容易。总之，我们的研究表明，AFB检测不需要酚，而GASMoC方法（一种无酚技术）可以替代病理实验室中的ZNT。