Wright's Stain is used for staining of peripheral blood and bone marrow smears.
The polychromatic staining solutions such as Wright's stain contain methylene blue and eosin. These basic and acidic dyes induce multiple colours when applied to cells. Methanol acts as fixative and also as solvent. The fixative does not allow any further change in the cells and makes them adhere to the glass slide. The basic component of white cells (i.e. cytoplasm) is stained by acidic dye and they are described as eosinophilic or acidophilic. The acidic components (e.g. nucleus with nucleic acid) take blue to purple shades of the basic dyes and they are called basophilic. The neutral components of the cell are stained by both the dyes.
Reagents / Contents:
a) Wright stain 1.0 g
Glycerol 50.0 mL
Methanol, absolute 50.0 mL
b) Stock stain solution 4.0 mL
Acetone 3.0 mL
Phosphate buffer (1/15 M, pH 6.5) 2.0 mL
Distilled water 31.0 mL
Both (a) and (b) are mixed in coupling jar.
**Formula adjusted, standardized to suit performance parameters
Appearance: Dark blue coloured solution.
