Metachromatic Agar-Diffusion Methods for Detecting Staphylococcal Nuclease Activity

Abstract

Based on the metachromatic property of Toluidine Blue O, three, convenient agar-diffusion methods have been developed that enable detection of the nuclease of Staphylococcus aureus at concentrations as low as 0.005 mug/ml in agar and broth cultures. The interactions of agar and deoxyribonucleic acid with Toluidine Blue O are discussed.