Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining Kit

Hematoxylin and Eosin Staining, also known as H&E staining, is one of the most widely used staining technique in histopathology. Hematoxylin is a kind of natural dye extracted from the logwood tree. When oxidized, hematoxylin forms the hematein, which is the actual dye used in H&E staining. Hematein can form colored complexes with mordant (mainly iron or aluminum salts). The colored complexes are positively charged and easily bind to the anionic (negatively charged) nuclei, causing the nuclei to be blue in color.

Eosin is an acid dye that binds to alkaline or basic structures, mainly proteins in the cell cytoplasm, staining the cytoplasm vary shades of red and pink.

Hematoxylin staining gives intense blue nuclei providing optimal contrast to the eosin stained cytoplasm, which can readily differentiate cellular components. H&E staining is widely used in many areas, such as paraffin section, frozen section and smear staining. Reagents in this kit can be used directly.