This is by far the
most routine stain used in hospital pathology labs and is also the
stain that is used for most of the histopathology specimens you will
see in the UDOS courses.
The charge of the tissue constituents,
proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, etc, determine which stain will
preferentially bind.
- Basic stain (e.g. hematoxylin)
contains positive charges (cationic) and binds to negatively
charged (basophilic) substances, such as nucleic acids.
- Acid stain (e.g. eosin)
contains negative charges (anionic) and binds to positively
charged (acidophilic) substances, such as proteins.
Other commonly used stains bind
preferentially to specific cellular or tissue
constituents. |