Liu's stain
Liu's stain (劉氏染色法) is a staining technique used to stain animal cells.[1] It is an improved staining based on Romanowsky stain, and was introduced by professor Chen-Hui Liu (劉禎輝), faculty of National Taiwan University, in 1953. The method sees a wide variety of usage in Taiwan. Comparing to other staining methods, Liu's stain is relatively fast, taking no more than 3 minutes to complete the process. In pathology, Liu's stain is primarily used to distinguish blood cells, but it can also apply on vaginal discharge, sputum, and pus as a simple stain.
Components
[edit]Liu's stain is composed of two dyes, Liu A and Liu B. Liu A is the anionic dye, contains, eosin Y to stain cytoplasm as well as hemoglobin into red. Liu B, on the other hand, is the cationic dye, contains azur I and methylene azure, to stain nucleus and basophilic granules into blue. To apply the stain on a fixed smear, first add Liu A for some 45 seconds, then add Liu B for some 90 seconds. Then, wash off the excessive dye by gently flushing the back of the smear. The staining is done after the water on the smear dried up.[citation needed]
| Dye | Ingredients | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liu A | Eosin Y | Methanol or Ethanol (for fixation) | Methylene azure (trace amount) | ||
| Liu B | Azur I | Methylene azure | Disodium phosphate | Monopotassium phosphate | Water |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Yue, Qing Fang; Xiong, Bei; Chen, Wan Xin; Liu, Xin Yue (July 2014). "Comparative study of the efficacy of Wright-Giemsa stain and Liu's stain in the detection of Auer rods in acute promyelocytic leukemia". Acta Histochemica. 116 (6): 1113–1116. doi:10.1016/j.acthis.2014.05.005. ISSN 1618-0372. PMID 24958342.