Wheaton Staining Dishes

We offer a variety of staining dishes and Coplin jars suitable for staining in pathology, microscopy, microbiology and hematology. Staining is a contrast-enhancing procedure used to prepare samples for microscopic examination. In light microscopy, specimens are colored using various dyes, many of which are selective; that is, they stain a specific type of tissue, bacteria, or cellular component. Several stains may be used in sequence to produce a counterstained sample.

Stains are classified as acidic, basic or neutral, depending on the nature of the stain’s colored radicals. Acidic stains tend to react with cytoplasm, whereas basic stains are taken up by nucleic acids. In electron microscopy, the term “staining” may be applied to procedures wherein electron-dense materials such as salts or osmium, uranium and lead bind to and increase the electron density of various cell constituents.

For example, Aniline Blue is an acidic, water-soluble dye used to stain connective tissue. This dye is valuable for visualizing connective tissue fibers beneath epithelia within glands and muscles. Aniline Blue colors collagen fiber dark blue, mucous and cartilage matrix light blue, and nerve tissue lilac. It can be used as a counterstain with red nuclear dye. Concentrations as low as +/-1% can be used to evaluate thick sections of resin-embedded material for electron microscopy.

Dishes, covers and racks are manufactured from soda-lime glass and resist stains from Eosin or Hemotoxylin. Staining dishes are available in many configurations to accommodate up to 50 slides, with various glass and stainless steel racks.

Coplin jars can be used for pre-staining with and alcohol buffer. Slides are held vertically for easy manipulation. A Coplin jar can also serve as a preparation chamber for micro-thin-layer chromatography.

Wheaton staining dishes have been used for a variety of procedures to clean slides and coat them with a variety of materials (for example, Bain, J.R.; Hoffman, A.S. Glycophase glass revisited: Protein adsorption and cell growth on glass surfaces bearing immobilized monosaccharides, Biomaterials, in press 2002). Wheaton staining dishes have also been used for poly lysine and silane slide coatings.

Note: Wheaton staining dishes are not autoclavable or microwaveable, and are not intended for use at temperatures below 15 C or above 80 C.