Alcian Blue 8GX [33864-99-2]

Alcian Blue 8GX is a commonly used phthalocyanine dye that binds to glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans. Alcian Blue 8GX has a wide range of applications in biological staining, including proteins in brain tumors and DNA in cells and tissues^[1][2][3][4].

Alcian Blue 8GX working solution preparation^[1]
To prepare 1 mg/mL Alcian Blue 8GX: add 0.6 mL of glacial acetic acid to ddH2O to a final volume of 20 mL. Add 20 mg of Alcian Blue 8GX, dissolve thoroughly.
Alcian Blue 8GX staining of cell micromass cultures^[1]
(1) Prepare preprocessing solution A: add 0.5 mL of ammonium hydroxide solution to 500 mL of 70% ethanol.
(2) Prepare preprocessing solution B: add 25 mL of glacial acetic acid to 70% ethanol to a final volume of 500 mL.
(3) Discard the culture medium from the micromass culture and fix with 1 mL of Bouin's fixative at room temperature for 15 minutes.
(4) Wash with preprocessing solution A and B.
(5) Stain with 2 mL of 1 mg/mL Alcian Blue 8GX at room temperature for 1 hour.
(6) Wash off the dye with deionized water, repeat four times. and soak in 2 mL of deionized water.
(7) Take a photograph.
(8) Wash off the dye again with deionized water.
(9) Extract the dye by incubating the culture with 1 mL of 6 M guanidine hydrochloride at room temperature overnight.
(10) Measure the optical density at OD595 using a spectrophotometer.
378/2000 Cell Culture Precautions^[1]
(1) Avoiding Cell Death: To prevent cell death, embryos/cells should always be kept on ice before plating.
(2) Handling When Cell Viability is Below 70-80%: If cell viability drops below 70-80%, consider using a dead cell removal kit (e.g., Miltenyi Dead Cell Removal Kit, Miltenyi Biotech, Cat. No: 130-090-101) to eliminate dead cells.
(3) Cell Plating in 35 mm Culture Dishes: When plating cells in 35 mm culture dishes, maintain a high-density cell area. After 1.5 hours of culture, the cells should adhere. Carefully add high DMEM culture medium containing fibronectin.
(4) Use and Passaging of Isolated Cells: Isolated cells can be used for micro-clump culture on the same day they are isolated. However, these cells can only be passaged a maximum of three times, and the total culture time from isolation should not exceed 10 days.
Alcian Blue 8GX staining of glycosaminoglycans^[2]
(1) Mast cells were fixed with methanol-40% formaldehyde-acetic acid (85:10:5 volume ratio) for 30 min, and the cells were stained after washing.
(2) Stain with 0.5% (w/v) Alcian Blue 8GX dissolved in 3% (v/v) acetic acid, pH 2.4, for 0.5 or 2 hours.
(3) The same solution saturated with urea as in (1) was returned to pH 2.4 with HCl and stained for 0.5 h.
(4) After staining with the same solution as in (1) for 0.5 h, the slides were stained with 0.3% (w/v) hematoxylin O (pH 0.9) in 0.125 N HCl for 5 min.
(5) After staining, rinse with distilled water, let it air dry, and then mount with Entellan.
(6) To detect the presence of histamine, air dry the unfixed or fixed smears of rat peritoneal mast cells, and stain them with 1% (w/v) ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPT) dissolved in xylene (staining time 2 minutes). The staining process is carried out in a closed chamber at room temperature with 100% relative humidity. After staining, the slides are drained and immediately mounted with tetrahydrofuran.
(7) The yellow fluorescence intensity of the histamine-OPT complex in mast cell granules was examined using a Leitz Orthoplan microscope equipped with a Leitz Ploemopak 2 (for incident fluorescence) and a 75 W high-pressure xenon lamp. The filter system used consisted of a TK 510/K 515 dichroic, a K 510 blocking filter and a 2 x KP 490 (= KP 500) excitation filter.
Alcian Blue 8GX staining of fetal cartilage^[3]
(1) Rat fetuses were obtained from mated female Spraque-Dawley rats. On gestational day 21 (sperm/sperm day 5, gestational day 0), rats were euthanized by carbon dioxide asphyxiation. Fetuses were obtained by standard cesarean section and subsequently euthanized by oral administration of sodium pentobarbital. New Zealand white and Dutch rabbits were 5-6 months old at the time of mating, and pregnant rabbits were sacrificed on gestational day 28 and fetuses were obtained by intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital. Each fetus was euthanized by oral administration of sodium pentobarbital.
(2) Fetuses were eviscerated, skinned, and fixed in 70% ethanol for 3-7 days.
(3) Alcian Blue 8GX was added to a mixture of 8 parts 95% ethanol and 2 parts glacial acetic acid to prepare solutions of 75 and 100 mg/L.
(4) Rat fetuses were stained in Alcian Blue 8GX (100 mg/L) for 24 h and rabbit fetuses were stained in Alcian Blue 8GX (75 mg/L) for 24 h, followed by rinsing in 95% ethanol for 6 h.
(5) Rat and rabbit fetuses were immersed in 1% and 1.25% potassium hydroxide, respectively. Rat fetuses were stained with 12 mg/L Alizarin Red S (HY-120601) for 48 h and rabbit fetuses were stained with 6 mg/L Alizarin Red S (HY-120601) for 24 h.
(6) Transferred to a solution of 70% ethanol and glycerol (1:1) for clearing, hardening, and examination.
Alcian Blue 8GX for protein determination^[4]
(1) Dissolve the target protein in water or 0.1 M NaCl solution to a working concentration of 25 μg/ml.
(2) Use Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 7.24, containing 0.04 M H3PO4, 0.04 M HAc and 0.04 M H3BO3) to control the acidity and use 0.5 M NaCl solution to adjust the ionic strength of the aqueous solution.
(3) Add the appropriate protein working solution, 1.0 mL of Britton-Robinson buffer. Except for IgG, which was diluted with 0.1 M NaCl, all other mixtures were diluted to 10 mL with double distilled water.
(4) The mixture was used for absorption or RLS measurement. The RLS spectrum was scanned by adjusting the excitation and emission monochromators (∆λ = 0 nm) of the RF-540 fluorescence spectrometer. The RLS intensity was measured at 398.0 nm, proteins, including bovine serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HAS), pepsin (Pep) and cellulase (Cel), can be determined with the limit of detection below 30 ng/mL. (5) RLS spectra of the interaction between ABGX and BSA. Concentration 1.0 × 10^-5 M.

MedChemExpress (MCE) has not independently confirmed the accuracy of these methods. They are for reference only.

* Please refer to the solubility information to select the appropriate solvent. Once prepared, please aliquot and store the solution to prevent product inactivation from repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
Storage method and period of stock solution: -80°C, 6 months; -20°C, 1 month (sealed storage, away from moisture and light). When stored at -80°C, please use it within 6 months. When stored at -20°C, please use it within 1 month.

• [1]. Hiroki Ueharu, et al. Isolation and Culture of Cranial Neural Crest Cells from the First Branchial Arch of Mice. Bio Protoc. 2022 Apr 5;12(7):e4371.  [Content Brief]

  [2]. J Tas, et al. The Alcian blue and combined Alcian blue--Safranin O staining of glycosaminoglycans studied in a model system and in mast cells. Histochem J. 1977 Mar;9(2):205-30.  [Content Brief]

  [3]. Brian G Redfern, et al. An alternative Alcian Blue dye variant for the evaluation of fetal cartilage. Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol. 2007 Jun;80(3):171-6.  [Content Brief]

  [4]. Yuan Fang Li, et al. Determination of Proteins Based on Their Resonance Light Scattering Enhancement Effect on Alcian Blue 8GX. Original Papers. 2000 Dec; VOL.16