Quellung reaction

The Quellung reaction is a biochemical reaction in which antibodies bind to the Bacterial
capsule of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis and
Haemophilus influenzae [1] and thus allow them to be visualized under a microscope. If the
reaction is positive, the capsule becomes opaque and appears to enlarge.
Quellung is the German word for "swelling" and describes the microscopic appearance of
pneumococcal or other bacterial capsules after their polysaccharide antigen has combined
with a specific antibody. The antibody usually comes from a bit of serum taken from an
immunized laboratory animal. As a result of this combination, and precipitation of the large,
complex molecule formed, the capsule appears to swell, because of increased surface tension,
and its outlines become clearly demarcated.
The pneumococcal Quellung reaction was first described in 1902 [2] by the scientist Fred
Neufeld, both as microscopic capsular swelling and macroscopic agglutination (clumping
visible with the naked eye). It has been used to identify the 90 known capsular serotypes of
Streptococcus pneumoniae in a diagnostic setting, but in recent years has been challenged by
molecular typing techniques which target genetic differences.[3]

the swelling of the capsule observed when specific antibody is mixed with suitable bacterial
cells (e.g. pneumococci). It is probably due to deposition of antibody on the outside of the
capsule, making the latter clearly visible. [From the German, Quellung, swelling; described
by Ferdinand Neufeld (18691945), German bacteriologist, in 1902.