Cytoplasm of the cell is eosinophilic because it absorbs acidic dye.

Cytoplasm of the cell is eosinophilic because it absorbs acidic dye.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It Absorbs Basic Dyes
• D. It Absorbs Acidic Dyes

Answer: (B)

Eosinophilic staining comes from the way eosin, an acidic dye, interacts with tissue components. The cytoplasm is rich in basic, positively charged proteins, which attract the negatively charged eosin dye and give the cytoplasm its pinkish color. Saying the cytoplasm is eosinophilic because it absorbs acidic dye is an oversimplification of the mechanism—the key point is the binding of the acidic dye to the basic groups in cytoplasmic proteins. Nuclei, by contrast, stain basophilic with the basic dye hematoxylin because of their acidic nucleic acids.

Eosinophilic staining comes from the way eosin, an acidic dye, interacts with tissue components. The cytoplasm is rich in basic, positively charged proteins, which attract the negatively charged eosin dye and give the cytoplasm its pinkish color. Saying the cytoplasm is eosinophilic because it absorbs acidic dye is an oversimplification of the mechanism—the key point is the binding of the acidic dye to the basic groups in cytoplasmic proteins. Nuclei, by contrast, stain basophilic with the basic dye hematoxylin because of their acidic nucleic acids.