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05500

Sigma-Aldrich

Alcian Blue 8GX

for microscopy (Bact., Bot., Hist.)

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Synonym(s):
Alcian Blue, Ingrain Blue 1
Empirical Formula (Hill Notation):
C56H68Cl4CuN16S4
CAS Number:
33864-99-2
Molecular Weight:
1298.86
Colour Index Number:
74240
EC Number:
251-705-7
MDL number:
MFCD00010720
UNSPSC Code:
12171500
PubChem Substance ID:
329748076
NACRES:
NA.47

grade

for microscopy (Bact., Bot., Hist.)

Quality Level

100

form

powder

solubility

methanol: water (1:1): 0.01 g/10 mL, blue to very deep blue

εmax

≥60 at 605-625 nm in water

application(s)

diagnostic assay manufacturing
hematology
histology

storage temp.

room temp

SMILES string

[Cl-].[Cl-].[Cl-].[Cl-].CN(C)C(\SCc1ccc2c3nc(nc4n5[Cu]n6c(nc7nc(nc5c8cc(CS\C(N(C)C)=[N+](\C)C)ccc48)c9ccc(CS\C(N(C)C)=[N+](\C)C)cc79)c%10ccc(CS\C(N(C)C)=[N+](\C)C)cc%10c6n3)c2c1)=[N+](/C)C

InChI

1S/C56H68N16S4.4ClH.Cu/c1-65(2)53(66(3)4)73-29-33-17-21-37-41(25-33)49-57-45(37)62-50-43-27-35(31-75-55(69(9)10)70(11)12)19-23-39(43)47(59-50)64-52-44-28-36(32-76-56(71(13)14)72(15)16)20-24-40(44)48(60-52)63-51-42-26-34(18-22-38(42)46(58-51)61-49)30-74-54(67(5)6)68(7)8;;;;;/h17-28H,29-32H2,1-16H3;4*1H;/q+2;;;;;+2/p-4

InChI key

CKLBXIYTBHXJEH-UHFFFAOYSA-J

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General description

Alcian Blue 8GX (Cl 74240), also known as Alcian Blue 8GN or Ingrain Blue 1, is a cationic, copper phthalocyanine dye. Four cationic guanidinium groups are attached to the ring system via thioether links, which form an insoluble pigment when broken by hydroxide ions or nucleophiles. The dye is basic, tetravalent, and blue in color due to its copper content. It forms salt linkages with the acid groups of acid mucopolysaccharides.

Application

  • Alcian Blue 8GX is generally used for the demonstration of mucopolysaccharides and as a general microscopic stain.
  • It is a heteroglycan stain for neutral, sulfated, and phosphated mucopolysaccharides and glycosaminoglycans in tissues such as cartilage and extracellular matrices.
  • It has been used to discover novel insights into the short-term impact of food-relevant synthetic amorphous silica on the intestinal epithelium.
  • It is suitable for amyloid staining, cystine following oxidation, and staining mast cells in polychromatic alcian blue-safranine methods.
  • It is applicable as a microscopic stain for the detection of bacterial capsules, and mucin staining of cytological fine-needle aspirates.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Alcian Blue 8GX forms insoluble complexes with acidic glycosaminoglycans, thereby helping in the quantitative determination of glycosaminoglycans.

Features and Benefits

  • Desired staining patterns can be obtained by manipulating pH and salt concentrations.

Principle

Alcian blue staining can be combined with the Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. Acid mucosubstances in tissues are stained selectively and counterstained most commonly with nuclear fast red. This can be combined with the PAS reaction to additionally visualize non-substituted polysaccharides, neutral mucopolysaccharides, muco- and glycoproteins, and glycol- and phospholipids, using an Acetic acid-Alcian blue solution as the stain. Carboxylated and sulfatic proteoglycans are selectively stained at a pH of 2.5. The differentiation between carboxyl and sulfate groups is only possible at pH 1.

WGK

WGK 3

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

Certificates of Analysis (COA)

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Schachner et al.
Biotechnic & histochemistry : official publication of the Biological Stain Commission, 76(1), 15-22 (2001-07-07)
The staining method developed by Christian Gram was introduced as a simple and highly selective tool for demonstrating myxosporean and coccidian sporogonic stages. When using standard blood staining procedures for those enigmatic parasites it is sometimes difficult to distinguish them
Conn's Biological Stains
Kiernan & Horobin
Conn?s Biological Stains (2002)
J E Scott
European journal of oral sciences, 104(1), 2-9 (1996-02-01)
A brief outline of the history and chemistry of the copper pthalocyanin-based Alcian blue dyes highlights the adverse effects of commercial secrecy and entrepreneurial dishonesty on the use of these valuable histochemical and biochemical reagents in the biological sciences. The
C J Churukian et al.
Biotechnic & histochemistry : official publication of the Biological Stain Commission, 75(3), 147-150 (2000-08-19)
We compared the staining performance, dye content, solubility, and visual absorption maximum of two batches of alcian blue pyridine variant and of five batches of alcian blue 8GX (C.I. 74240). Whenever possible, we also compared results to those obtained with
P Prentø
Biotechnic & histochemistry : official publication of the Biological Stain Commission, 84(4), 139-158 (2009-04-23)
This review is based on a presentation given at the Biological Stain Commission meeting in June 2008. I discuss staining as an interaction between dye, solvent, and biological macromolecules. Most staining takes place in water, where the physico-chemical properties of
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