Staining (biology)

For staining in the sense of "wood staining," see Wood staining.

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Staining is a biochemical technique of adding a class-specific (DNA, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates) dye to a substrate to qualify or quantify the presence of a specific compound. It is similar to fluorescent tagging.

Related Topics:
Biochemical - DNA - Protein - Lipid - Carbohydrate - Fluorescent

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Stains and dyes are frequently used in biology and medicine to highlight structures in biological tissues for viewing, often with the aid of different microscopes. Stains may be used to define and examine bulk tissues (highlighting, for example, muscle fibers or connective tissue), cell populations (classifying different blood cells, for instance), or organelles within individual cells.

Related Topics:
Dye - Biology - Medicine - Biological tissue - Microscope - Muscle - Connective tissue - Cell - Blood - Organelle

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Biological staining is also used to mark cells in flow cytometry, and to flag proteins or nucleic acids in gel electrophoresis.

Related Topics:
Flow cytometry - Protein - Nucleic acid - Gel electrophoresis

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