Pretreatments of B. subtilis and S. aureus cells with lower concentrations of fixative agents, led to modifications in bacteriolytic effect exerted by polyarginine and protamine: Glutaraldehyde blocked polycation bacteriolysis while formaldehyde and osmium tetroxide (OSO4) having no influence on polyarginine action, increased constantly the cell sensitivity to protamine in lower doses otherwise nonlytic; the sensitizing action also resulted in the extension of protamine bacteriolytic pattern including several staphylococcal strains; higher bacteriolytic doses of protamine were contrastively unable to lyse OSO4 prefixed cells and gave an inconstant lytic value with formaldehyde treated bacteria. With higher concentrations, OSO4 preserved intactly its sensitizing action while formaldehyde displayed a decrease in its ability to sensitize B. subtilis cells to the lytic effect of protamine. Scaning electron microscopy of polycation treated cells showed prelytic lesions as surface granulations, shape and size modifications and cell splits. The interpretation of the results in terms of intra-and intermolecular adducts accompanied by con­ formational changes in surface macromolecules is discussed. It is concluded that the results match the model of polycation bacteriolysis by wall multizonal picnosis leading to surface splits and thereby triggering cell-lysis.