Nile blue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nile blue | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Systematic name | Nile blue |
| Chemical formula | CxHxNxOx |
| Molecular mass | xx.xx g/mol |
| Density | x.xxx g/cm3 |
| Melting point | xx.x °C |
| Boiling point | xx.x °C |
| CAS number | [xx-xx-xx] |
| SMILES | xxxx |
| Disclaimer and references | |
| Nile red | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Systematic name | Nile red |
| Chemical formula | CxHxNxOx |
| Molecular mass | xx.xx g/mol |
| Density | x.xxx g/cm3 |
| Melting point | xx.x °C |
| Boiling point | xx.x °C |
| CAS number | [xx-xx-xx] |
| SMILES | xxxx |
| Disclaimer and references | |
Nile blue (or Nile blue A) is a stain used in biology and histology. It may be used with live or fixed cells, and imparts a blue colour to cell nuclei.
It may also be used in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy to stain for the presence of polyhydroxybutyrate granules in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells.
[edit] Nile red
Nile red (also known as Nile blue oxazone) is a lipophilic stain. It is produced by boiling a solution of Nile blue with sulfuric acid. As can be seen from the structural formulae, this process replaces an amino group with a carboxyl group. Nile red stains intracellular lipid droplets red. Nile red is also intensely fluorescent, with a strong yellow-gold emission when in a lipid-rich environment.
Since the reaction to generate Nile red does not usually completely exhaust the supply of Nile blue, additional separation steps are required if pure Nile red is needed.
