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. 2012 May;16(2):251-5.
doi: 10.4103/0973-029X.99081.

Toluidine blue: A review of its chemistry and clinical utility

Gokul Sridharan  1 , Akhil A Shankar
Affiliations

Toluidine blue: A review of its chemistry and clinical utility

Gokul Sridharan et al. J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2012 May.

Abstract

Toluidine blue is a basic thiazine metachromatic dye with high affinity for acidic tissue components, thereby staining tissues rich in DNA and RNA. It has found wide applications both as vital staining in living tissues and as a special stain owing to its metachromatic property. Toluidine blue has been used in vivo to identify dysplasia and carcinoma of the oral cavity. Use of toluidine blue in tissue sections is done with the aim to highlight components, such as mast cells granules, mucins, and cartilage. This article provides an overview on chemistry, technique, and the various applications of toluidine blue.

Keywords: Metachromasia; toluidine blue; vital staining.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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