Investigation of Thiazin Dyes as Biological Stains I. The Staining Properties of Thionin and its Derivatives as Compared with Their Chemical Formulae

An investigation has been made of the staining properties of eight dyes of the thionin group. The dyes studied are as follows: tetra-ethyl thionin, asymmetrical di-ethyl thionin, tetra-methyl thionin (methylene blue), tri-methyl thionin (azure B), asymmetrical di-methyl thionin (azure A), symmetrical di-methyl thionin, mono-methyl thionin (azure C), and unsubstituted thionin. The staining properties were tested on sections of paraffin embedded material following five different methods of fixation. No counterstain was employed. It was shown that there was a general correlation between the extent of ethylation or methylation of the dyes and their staining properties. As one passes from tetra-ethyl thionin down the series to thionin itself, there is a progressive decrease in the amount of green showing in the preparations, and an increase in the amount of red present, also an increase in the metachromatic effects, and in the intensity of nuclear staining. There seems, also, to be a similar relation between staining qualities on the one hand and the color and solubility of the dye base on the other.     

Romanowsky staining in cytopathology: history,advantages and limitations

Abstract

If the entire discipline of diagnostic cytopathology could be distilled into a single theme, it would be the Papanicolaou stain. Yet it was the Romanowsky stain upon which the discipline of cytopathology was founded. Both stains are used today in the cytopathology laboratory, each for a different and complementary purpose. We trace the history of cytopathological stains and discuss the advantages and limitations of Romanowsky-type stains for cytological evaluation. We also provide suggestions for the advantageous use of Romanowsky-type stains in cytopathology.     

Standardization in Biological Staining. The Influence of Dye Manufacturing

The purpose of biological staining is to obtain specimens of biological material that can be assessed in the microscope. These specimens are influenced by all processes from removal from the intact organism to mounting on the microscopic slide. To achieve comparable results with various techniques for biological staining, standardization of all procedures and reagents is mandatory. In this paper, I focus particularly on dyes and consider the possibilities for obtaining standardized dyes. In general practice, most biological staining takes place with available commercial dyes. These dyes may or may not have been subjected to quality assessment either internally by the producer or vendor or externally by independent investigators or organizations such as the Biological Stain Commission. Concerted attempts at standardization in Europe are discussed. The latest results of this work, the European standard EN 12376, is presented. This standard is concerned with information supplied by the manufacturer with in vitro diagnostic reagents for biological staining. The standard has been prepared by a Working Group on Staining in Biology under Technical Committee 140, In Vitro Medical Devices, of the European committee for standardization, CEN.     

DNA staining in agarose and polyacrylamide gels by methyl green

ABSTRACT

Methyl green (MG) is an inexpensive, nonproprietary, traditional histological stain for cell nuclei. When bound to DNA and upon excitation with orange-red light, it fluoresces brightly in the far red region. We compared MG with ethidium bromide (EtBr), the conventional stain for DNA in gels, and Serva DNA stain G? (SDsG), a proprietary stain marketed as a safer alternative to EtBr for staining of electrophoresed DNA bands in agarose and polyacrylamide gels. DNA-MG fluorescence was recorded and 2.4 μg/ml MG produced crisp images of electrophoresed DNA after incubation for 10 min. Stain solutions were stable and detection limits for faint bands as well as relative densitometric quantitation were equivalent to EtBr. MG, EtBr and SDsG cost 0.0192, 0.024 and 157.5 US cents/test, respectively. MG is an effective stain for visualizing DNA in agarose and polyacrylamide gels. Its major advantages including low cost, comparable quality of staining, storage at room temperature, photo-resistance and low mutagenic profile outweigh its disadvantages such as staining of tracking dye and requirement for a gel documentation system with a red filter.     

Evolution of the silver and gold stains in neurohistology

Scientific investigations depend on the reliability of the observations that can be made. This reliability is determined in part by the understanding of the techniques and technology used to make the observations. The limitations and the strengths of the methodology and the equipment used must be evaluated thoroughly. The extent to which this is and has been the case for the use of the metal based stains in neuroscience is the subject of this paper. I evaluate the metallic stains used for neuroscience from several perspectives. I review briefly the state of neurohistology prior to its “golden years,” 1870–1910. Then I trace the development of the silver based stains used for neurohistology. I wanted to discuss the reasoning used by the originators of the silver based techniques in developing their specific procedures, but discovered that while procedures may be published, the methods and ideas used to arrive at the final procedures are not usually described in published work.     

白桦反义CCoAOMT基因调控木质素生物合成

白桦是我国北方重要的造林树种,但其中的高木质素含量严重制约了它作为造纸资源植物的开发利用。本文利用RACE技术获得了白桦咖啡酰辅酶A-3-O-甲基转移酶（CCoAOMT）基因全长ORF序列,并构建了白桦CCoAOMT基因的反义表达载体,通过农杆菌介导法将其导入到白桦中。PCR检测表明反义CCoAOMT基因已整合到白桦的基因组中。对转化植株的半定量PCR检测显示转基因株系的CCoAOMT基因表达量下降;Wiesner染色发现,与野生型相比,转基因植株木质素含量有所下降。对七年生的转基因白桦和野生型对照进行了化学成分分析,结果表明转基因白桦的苯醇抽提物和Klason木质素显著减少,聚戊糖含量升高。上述结果暗示BpCCoAOMT基因参与白桦木质素的合成,反义表达该基因后木质素含量减少,更易于去除。白桦CCoAOMT基因对木质素的合成起重要作用,这为培育低木质素含量的制浆新品种白桦奠定了基础。     

基于固态基底的SERS免疫检测新方法研究

目的:通过引入新型表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)检测探针(Au-DTNB-Tyr NPs)和金标银染技术,建立基于固态硅片基底的SERS免疫检测新技术。方法:羊抗人IgM-HRP作为检测抗体,在硅片基底上检测不同浓度的人IgM,HRP催化SERS检测探针沉积,利用金标银染技术增强SERS信号。结果:所建立的SERS免疫检测新方法检测人IgM的检测限为10 pg/mL,且SERS信号强度与人IgM浓度具有良好的线性关系(R2=0.993)。结论:基于硅片基底的SERS免疫检测新技术可高灵敏地定量检测人IgM,为实现固态硅片基底对多种抗原的高通量集成化检测奠定了基础。     

牛磺酸对高糖培养下视网膜Mü ller细胞GFAP和TAUT表达的影响

目的：通过检测高糖培养条件下视网膜Mü ller细胞神经纤维酸性蛋白（glial fibrillary acid protein,GFAP）和牛磺酸转运蛋白（taurine transporter,TAUT）的表达变化,观察葡萄糖对Mü ller细胞牛磺酸（taurine）转运功能的影响,探讨牛磺酸对早期糖尿病视网膜病（DR）可能的保护作用.方法：高糖培养大鼠视网膜Mü ller细胞,用免疫细胞荧光化学双染色、Western blotting技术检测不同浓度牛磺酸干预下Mü ller细胞GFAP及TAUT的蛋白表达.结果：高糖可引起Mü ller细胞GFAP表达增强,TAUT表达减弱;牛磺酸可减弱高糖引起的Mü ller细胞GFAP表达增强,TAUT在0.1mmol/L～10 mmo1/L的牛磺酸干预后表达增强.结论：牛磺酸可以抑制高糖导致的Müller细胞功能改变.     

BAmSA: Visualising transmembrane regions in protein complexes using biotinylated amphipols and electron microscopy

Membrane protein (MP) complexes play key roles in all living cells. Their structural characterisation is hampered by difficulties in purifying and crystallising them. Recent progress in electron microscopy (EM) have revolutionised the field, not only by providing higher-resolution structures for previously characterised MPs but also by yielding first glimpses into the structure of larger and more challenging complexes, such as bacterial secretion systems. However, the resolution of pioneering EM structures may be difficult and their interpretation requires clues regarding the overall organisation of the complexes. In this context, we present BAmSA, a new method for localising transmembrane (TM) regions in MP complexes, using a general procedure that allows tagging them without resorting to neither genetic nor chemical modification. Labels bound to TM regions can be visualised directly on raw negative-stain EM images, on class averages, or on three-dimensional reconstructions, providing a novel strategy to explore the organisation of MP complexes.     

Use of negative stain and single-particle image processing to explore dynamic properties of flexible macromolecules

Flexible macromolecules pose special difficulties for structure determination by crystallography or NMR. Progress can be made by electron microscopy, but electron cryo-microscopy of unstained, hydrated specimens is limited to larger macromolecules because of the inherently low signal-to-noise ratio. For three-dimensional structure determination, the single particles must be invariant in structure. Here, we describe how we have used negative staining and single-particle image processing techniques to explore the structure and flexibility of single molecules of two motor proteins: myosin and dynein. Critical for the success of negative staining is a hydrophilic, thin carbon film, because it produces a low noise background around each molecule, and stabilises the molecule against damage by the stain. The strategy adopted for single-particle image processing exploits the flexibility available within the SPIDER software suite. We illustrate the benefits of successive rounds of image alignment and classification, and the use of whole molecule averages and movies to analyse and display both structure and flexibility within the dynein motor.