safranin O stain

Introduction

A red stain used:

• in histology
  • as a nuclear stain
  • to counterstain tissue stained with Prussian blue
• in microbiology
  • as a counterstain in the Gram's stain
  • to demonstrate enterochromaffin

It is a mixture of dimethyl & trimethylphenosafranin chloride.

It is a basic dye that exhibits orange metachromasia.

More general terms

• tissue stain