Methanol fixation. An alternative to heat fixation of smears before staining.

Methanol fixation of Gram-stained smears was compared to heat fixation. Smears were prepared in duplicate from direct clinical specimens, blood culture bottles, and bacterial colonies. Results from this study show that methanol fixation is superior in every instance to heat fixation. The morphology of bacteria and tissue cells was not distorted, little or no background debris was observed, and a better Gram reaction was noted.