KOH Wet Mount Preparation: Purpose, Principle, Procedure, Result Interpretation and uses
Purpose: To identify fungi in clinical specimens such as hair, skin or nails. Principle: The KOH mount is used to aid in detecting fungal elements in thick mucoid material or in specimens containing keratinous materials such as skin scales, nails and hair. The KOH dissolves the background keratin, unmasking the fungus element to make them more apparent. This test cannot find out the exact species of fungi. It can only differentiate whether fungi is present or not and the basic fungal structure. Further tests must be performed to confirm the species of fungi. Type of sample: Sterile containers should be used for sample collection Skin Hair Nail Requirements: Equipment Light microscope (40X magnification) Biological safety cabinet Reagents 10% KOH (aqueous) 40% KOH (aqueous) Cover slip Microscopic slides Procedure for 10% KOH Preparation: Measure the 10g of potassium hydroxide (KOH) pellets, the transfer to container. Add 50ml distilled wa...