Safranin

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Safranin

Safranin (also Safranin O or basic red 2) is a biological stain

Staining (biology)

Staining is an auxiliary technique used in microscopy to enhance contrast in the microscopic image.In biochemistry it involves adding a class-specific dye to a substrate to qualify or quantify the presence of a specific compound....
used in histology

Histology

Histology is the study of the anatomy of cell and tissue of plants and animals. It is performed by examining a thin slice of tissue under a light microscope or electron microscope....
and cytology

Cytology

Cytology means "the study of cell s".Cytology is that branch of life science, which deals with the study of cells in terms of structure, function and chemistry....
. Safranin is used as a counterstain in some staining protocols, colouring all cell nuclei

Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus , also sometimes referred to as the "control center", is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in all eukaryote cell ....
red. This is the classic counterstain in a Gram stain. It can also be used for the detection of cartilage

Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
, mucin

Mucin

Mucins are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylation proteins produced by many epithelial tissues in vertebrates. Although some mucins are cell membrane-bound due to the presence of a hydrophobic membrane-spanning domain that favors retention in the plasma membrane, most mucins are secretion onto mucosae or secreted to become...
and mast cell

Mast cell

A mast cell is a resident cell of several types of tissues and contains many Granule rich in histamine and heparin. Although best known for their role in allergy and anaphylaxis, mast cells play an important protective role as well, being intimately involved in wound healing and defense against pathogens....
granules.

Safranin typically has the chemical structure shown at right (sometimes described as dimethyl safranin).

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Encyclopedia

Safranin (also Safranin O or basic red 2) is a biological stain

Staining (biology)

Histology

Cytology

Cell nucleus

Cartilage

Mucin

Mast cell

Methyl group

In chemistry, a methyl group is a hydrophobic alkyl functional group named after methane . It has the chemical formula -3 and is often abbreviated -Me....
in the ortho- position of the lower ring. Both compounds behave essentially identically in biological staining applications, and most manufacturers of safranin don't distinguish between the two. Commercial safranin preparations often contain a blend of both types.

Safranin is also used as redox indicator

Redox indicator

A redox indicator is an indicator that undergoes a definite color change at a specific electrode potential.The requirement for fast and reversible color change means that the oxidation-reduction Chemical equilibrium for an indicator redox system needs to be established very fast....
in analytical chemistry

Analytical chemistry

Analytical chemistry is the study of the chemical composition of natural and artificial materials. Unlike other major sub disciplines of chemistry such as inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry, analytical chemistry is not restricted to any particular type of chemical compound or chemical reaction....
.

Safranines

Safranines are the azonium compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a Chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical element Chemical bond together in a fixed mass ratio that can be split into simpler substances....
s of symmetrical 2,8-dimethyl-3,7-diamino-phenazine. They are obtained by the joint oxidation of one molecule

Molecule

In chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable, electric charge neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds....
of a para-diamine with two molecules of a primary amine; by the condensation of para-aminoazo compounds with primary amines, and by the action of para-nitrosodialkylanilines with secondary bases

Base (chemistry)

In chemistry, a base is most commonly thought of as an aqueous substance that can accept protons. A base is also often referred to as an alkali if OH- ions are involved....
such as diphenylmetaphenylenediamine. They are crystalline solids showing a characteristic green metallic luster

Lustre (mineralogy)

Lustre is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock , or mineral. For example, a diamond is said to have an adamantine lustre and pyrite is said to have a metallic lustre....
; they are readily soluble in water and dye

Dye

A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an Chemical affinity to the Wiktionary:substrate to which it is being applied....
blue or violet. They are strong bases and form stable monacid salt

Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
s. Their alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
ic solution shows a yellow-red fluorescence

Fluorescence

Fluorescence is a luminescence that is mostly found as an optical phenomenon in cold bodies, in which the molecular absorption of a photon triggers the emission of a photon with a longer wavelength....
. Phenosafranine is not very stable in the free state

Free State

The Free State is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. The name is a popular contraction of the previous name the Orange Free State. Its capital is Bloemfontein which is also South Africa's judicial capital....
; its chloride

Chloride

The chloride ion is formed when the chemical element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−....
forms green plates. It can be readily diazotized, and the diazonium salt when boiled with alcohol yields aposafranine or benzene induline, C₁₈H₁₂N₃. F. Kehrmann showed that aposafranine could be diazotized in the presence of cold concentrated sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid, hydrogen2sulfuroxygen4, is a strong mineral acid. It is soluble in water at all concentrations. Sulfuric acid has many applications, and is one of the top products of the chemical industry....
, and the diazonium salt on boiling with alcohol yielded phenylphenazonium salts. Aposafranone, C₁₈H₁₂N₂O, is formed by heating aposafranine with concentrated hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong acid mineral acid and has major industrial uses....
. These three compounds are perhaps to be represented as ortho- or as para-quinone

Quinone

Quinones are "compounds having a fully conjugated cyclic Diketone structure, such as that of benzoquinones, derived from aromatic compounds by conversion of an even number of ?CH= groups into ?C? groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds ."...
s. The "safranine" of commerce is a ortho-tolusafranine. The first aniline

Aniline

Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene is an organic compound with the Chemical formula C6H7N. It is the simplest and one of the most important aromatic amines, being used as a precursor to more complex chemicals....
dye-stuff to be prepared on a manufacturing scale was mauveine

Mauveine

Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was the first synthetic organic chemistry dye.Its chemical name is3-amino-2,?9-dimethyl-5-phenyl-7-phenazinium acetate....
, which was obtained by Sir William Henry Perkin by heating crude aniline with potassium

Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
bichromate

Chromate

Chromates and dichromates are salts of chromic acid and dichromic acid, respectively. Chromate salts contain the chromate anion, ChromiumOxygen42-, and have an intense yellow color....
and sulfuric acid. Mauveine was converted to parasafranine (1,8-dimethyl Safranine) by Perkin in 1878 by oxidative/reductive

Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
loss of the 7-N-para-tolyl group.

External links

Safranine has recently been employed as the cationic component of a tecton used to build a porous anionic
Anionic

In chemistry, an anionic species is one that contains a full electric charge. These types of chemical compound can range in reactivity, but most are fairly reactive.Anionic is a chemical that is also used in things like washing detergent.......
Hydrogen Bond
Hydrogen bond

A hydrogen bond is the attractive force between one electronegative atom and a hydrogen covalently bonded to another electronegative atom. It results from a dipole-dipole force with a hydrogen atom bonded to nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine ....
ed Network.