Polymyxin B binding sites in Escherichia coli as revealed by polymyxin B-gold labeling.

A complex of polymyxin B, bovine serum albumin, and colloidal gold was prepared and used for the ultrastructural localization of polymyxin B binding sites on thin sections of Epon-embedded Escherichia coli cells. Gold particles were found on the outer membrane of E. coli, which is consistent with reported biochemical findings. We concluded that gold labeling with polymyxin B is useful in localizing the binding sites of polymyxin.