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
Elastic Van Gieson
Demonstrating elastic fibres (black) and collagen (red)
Masson's trichrome
Demonstrating collagen (green)