Stability of azure B-eosin Y staining solutions.

The stability of azure B-eosin Y staining solutions of varying composition and of a routine May Grunwald Giemsa (MGG) stain were studied by analysis of the density histogram of white blood cells obtained by an image analysis computer. The stability appeared to be variable and depended on the concentration of the dyes, the molarity of the buffer solutions and the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as a stabilizer. Although most staining solutions including the routine MGG stain showed marked loss of staining capacity soon after preparation, it was possible to obtain an azure B-eosin Y mixture with very satisfactory staining properties which did not decrease during 8 h after its preparation.