Merck, A5268-25G, Alcian Blue 8GX

General description
Alcian Blue 8GX, also known as Ingrain Blue 1, is a basic copper phthalocyanine dye whose copper content imparts a blue color. It is tetravalent, cationic, and water-soluble in nature. It forms salt linkages with the acid groups of acid mucopolysaccharides.
Application

• Alcian Blue 8GX has been used for the staining and precipitation of glycosaminoglycans and as a heteroglycan stain for neutral, sulfated, and phosphated mucopolysaccharides and glycosaminoglycans in tissues such as cartilage and extracellular matrices.
• It has been employed in the in vivo visualization of intravascular Bonghan ducts and corpuscles in murine models.
• It has been used to develop a novel histochemical staining method to assess multiple respiratory parameters in various species.

Biochem/physiol Actions
The Alcian blue staining is easily combined with the Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. In the tissue, acid mucosubstances are stained selectively and nuclear fast red is commonly used as counterstain. In combination with the PAS reaction, non-substituted polysaccharides, neutral mucopolysaccharides, muco- and glycoproteins, and glycol- and phospholipids can be visualized in addition. An Acetic acid-Alcian blue solution is used for the staining, whereby carboxylated and sulfatic proteoglycans are selectively stained when a pH of 2.5 is applied. The differentiation between carboxyl and sulfate groups is only possible at pH 1.
Features and Benefits
Desired staining patterns can be obtained by manipulating pH and salt concentrations.