Technique used to enhance visual contrast of specimens observed under a microscope
For other uses, see Staining (disambiguation).
A stained histological specimen, sandwiched between a glass microscope slide.
Staining is a technique used to enhance contrast in samples, generally at the microscopic level. Stains and dyes are frequently used in histology (microscopic study of biological tissues), in cytology (microscopic study of cells), and in the medical fields of histopathology, hematology, and cytopathology that focus on the study and diagnoses of diseases at the microscopic level. Stains may be used to define biological tissues (highlighting, for example, muscle fibers or connective tissue), cell populations (classifying different blood cells), or organelles within individual cells.
In biochemistry, it involves adding a class-specific (DNA, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) dye to a substrate to qualify or quantify the presence of a specific compound. Staining and fluorescent tagging can serve similar purposes. Biological staining is also used to mark cells in flow cytometry, and to flag proteins or nucleic acids in gel electrophoresis. Light microscopes are used for viewing stained samples at high magnification, typically using bright-field or epi-fluorescence illumination.
Staining is not limited to only biological materials, since it can also be used to study the structure of other materials; for example, the lamellar structures of semi-crystalline polymers or the domain structures of block copolymers.
the presence of a specific compound. Staining and fluorescent tagging can serve similar purposes. Biological staining is also used to mark cells in flow...
such as wood staining, rust staining and stained glass. There can be intentional stains (such as wood stains or paint), indicative stains (such as food...
supports. Classical Coomassie brilliant blue staining can usually detect a 50 ng protein band; silver staining increases the sensitivity typically 50 times...
high standards in stained glass painting and staining, to act as a locus for the exchange of information and ideas within the stained glass craft and to...
Gram stain (Gram staining or Gram's method), is a method of staining used to classify bacterial species into two large groups: gram-positive bacteria...
Differential staining is a staining process which uses more than one chemical stain. Using multiple stains can better differentiate between different...
Trichrome staining is a histological staining method that uses two or more acid dyes in conjunction with a polyacid. Staining differentiates tissues by...
Supravital staining is a method of staining used in microscopy to examine living cells that have been removed from an organism. It differs from intravital...
Field stain is a histological method for staining of blood smears. It is used for staining thick blood films in order to discover malarial parasites. Field's...
Lip stain or lip tint, is a cosmetic product used to color the lips, usually in form of a liquid or gel. It generally stays on longer than lipstick by...
staining is a naturally occurring problem that occurs to anodized aluminium and stainless steel panelling and façades. It is semi-permanent staining that...
stain using normal techniques such as simple staining and gram staining. Special techniques for endospore staining include the Schaeffer–Fulton stain...
Romanowsky staining is a prototypical staining technique that was the forerunner of several distinct but similar stains widely used in hematology (the...
Papanicolaou stain (also Papanicolaou's stain and Pap stain) is a multichromatic (multicolored) cytological staining technique developed by George Papanicolaou...
The Human Stain is a novel by Philip Roth, published May 5, 2000. The book is set in Western Massachusetts in the late 1990s. Its narrator is 65-year-old...
vital staining has a meaning contrasting with supravital staining. While in supravital staining the living cells take up the stain, in "vital staining" –...
and lastly a small amount of binder. Much like the dyeing or staining of fabric, wood stain is designed to add colour to the substrate (wood and other materials)...
of stained cells. The additional ethyl group in certain Hoechst dyes (Hoechst 33342) renders them more cell-permeable. There are nuclei staining dyes...
identification, spores are resistant to commonly employed staining techniques; therefore alternative staining methods are required. Carbol fuchsin is applied to...
generally pale pinkish in colour with red stains, which can also be seen on the stipe and gills. The red-staining inocybe was first described by Norwegian...
Negative staining Resources in your library Resources in other libraries "Negative staining for dummies". Retrieved 2009-06-06. "Negative staining". Archived...
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