Histological special stains are often over-looked in favour of more complex in situ assays however they can be a very valuable tool. Special stains can be used to identify specific tissue components such as elastic fibres, minerals, pigments and micro-organisms. Below are just a few examples of the special stains offered by the core facility.
Alcian blue
Demonstrating acid mucins (blue)
Elastic Van Gieson
Demonstrating elastic fibres (black) and collagen (red)
Masson's trichrome
Demonstrating collagen (green)