Counter Staining with Safranin After Gram Staining, We use counter staining to find out that is there any gram(-) bacteria present on the prepared slide. My question is- **What component in the cell wall of gram(-) bacteria is responsible for the retention of Safranin dye?** Like the Techoic Acid is responsible for the retention of CVI complex in gram (+) bacteria. As I have just studied the staining process,any additional useful information is appreciated. Thanks!

I find it hard to find actual literature on this, so this is just my reasoning. Safranin is a basic dye (ie positively charged). I suspect electrostatic interactions with negative charges on phospholipids in the inner membrane are responsible for its retention.