Differential Staining with a Mixture of Safranin and Fast Green FCF

Abstract

Mounted deparaffinized sections were stained for 30–60 minutes at room temperature in a mixture of equal volumes of 0.1% aqueous solutions of safranin O and fast green FCF filtered before use. They were then washed in distilled water for 5 minutes, blotted, washed in 2 changes of absolute alcohol (2–3 min) and mounted from xylene. The nucleic acids are stained purplish-red, half esters of sulfuric acid orange, and proteins green. The procedure is applicable to a variety of materials fixed in a number of reagents though best results are obtained after acetic-alcohol fixation. Bouin's fluid and 10% neutral formalin are not suitable fixatives for this procedure. After acetic-alcohol fixation, the staining procedure may be used in conjunction with enzyme or extraction technics in order to characterize certain chemical components of cells or tissues. The safranin-fast-green technic has proved useful in investigations of pathological changes in tissues; in the visualization of secretory granules and in studies of cellular differentiation. The technic also would appear to greatly facilitate mitotic index determinations.