Variations in the incubation time of the Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp and Escherichia coli cultures on the results of the gram stain visualization

Gram staining is a routine procedure performed in microbiology laboratories. Gram staining of bacteria was used to obtain data on the shape and group of gram bacteria. The results of gram staining can give confusing results so that the next process will be invalid. Several things were found in the laboratory, pure culture staining that should show gram-positive, but the results showed gram-negative or the presence of a mixture of gram-positive and negative in one field of view. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of incubation time on the results of gram bacteria staining. This research is an experimental study using pure cultures of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp, and Escherichia coli at 16, 18, 20, 24, and 26 hours of culture. The parameter observed was the color that was shown after gram staining at each bacterial culture age. The data obtained is qualitative data which is then processed into quantitative and then statistically analyzed. Statistical results using kruskall walis showed a significant difference between treatment groups based on incubation time. The results of the most uniform gram staining visualization were found at the incubation time of 16 and 18 hours.