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Test ID: Luxol Fast Blue Stain
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Luxol Fast Blue Stain
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Useful For
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Demonstration of the myelin sheath, basement membranes, senile plagues, fungi, and corpora amylacea. This is particularly useful combination stain that allows a correlative study of the cellular elements, fiber pathways, and vascular components of the nervous system.
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Method name and description
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Luxol fast blue stain. Like alcian blue, is of the sulfonated copper phthalocyanine type, but it is alcohol soluble whereas, alcian blue is water soluble.Staining is caused by lipoproteins, and the mechanism is one of an acid-base reaction with salt formation; the base of the lipoprotein replaces the base of the dye.
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Specimen type / Specimen volume / Specimen container
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Specimen type: Any well fixed tissue in 10% neutral buffered formalin.
Specimen volume/ Specimen container: Submit 3-4 µm paraffin embedded tissue mounted on a clean glass slide; for myelin sheath fibers staining submit 15-20 μm paraffin section mounted on a clean glass slide.
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Storage and transport instructions
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- Slides are stored in slide box at room temperature.
- Follow your local regulation shipping guidelines.
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Specimen Rejection Criteria
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- Broken slides
- Unlabeled slides with patient/case identification
- Contaminated slides
- Slides/Paraffin blocks mismatch
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Factors affecting test performance and result interpretation
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- Specimen fixation. Well-fixed specimens can produce consistent chemical and physical characteristics in tissue sections which allows patterns to be observed, morphological and chemical changes to be noted and comparisons made. These observations allow view of a dynamic ever-changing environment “fixed” at a particular point in time and may enable a histopathological diagnosis.
- Paraffin section thickness. Microscopic analysis of cells and tissues requires the preparation of very thin, high quality sections (3-4 µm); 15-20 μm for myelin sheath staining and appropriately stained to demonstrate normal and abnormal structures.
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Turnaround time / Days and times test performed / Specimen retention time
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Turnaround time: 48 hours
Days and times test performed: Once daily (Sunday to Thursday @0700-1500)
Note: Request received after 1100H will be run/stained the following working day.
Specimen retention time: 10 years
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