Pyronin Y has been used:
- in the purification of quiescent and cycling hematopoietic stem cells and staining of bone marrow cells (HSCs)
- as a component of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) solution for staining mammary gland side population cells (MG-SPs)
- staining of CD34+ cells
Pyronin Y is a cationic dye that intercalates RNA and is visible as a red band during electrophoresis. It has also been shown to accumulate in mitochondria of viable cells. In conjuction with Methyl Green or Nancy-520, Pyronin Y can be used as a fluorescent differential stain of nucleic acids in paraffin tissue sections.
Bacterial and biological stain.
ChEBI: An organic chloride salt having 6-(dimethylamino)-N,N-dimethyl-3H-xanthen-3-iminium as the cation. Used with methyl green to selectively demonstrate RNA (red) in contrast to DNA (green) with the Unna
Pappenheim method.
Pyronin Y (C.I. 45005) is an aminoxanthene dye that is present as a weakly lipophilic cation in neutral aqueous solutions. It is also known as pyronine G.
Pyronin Y is important in histochemistry and is combined with methyl green for staining of RNA. The mixture results in bright red/green staining of nucleic acids.
Commercial material may contain a large quantity of zinc. Purify it by dissolving 1g in 50mL of hot water containing 5g NaEDTA. Cool to 0o, filter, evaporate to dryness and the residue is extracted with EtOH. The solution is evaporated to 5-10mL, filtered, and the dye is precipitated by addition of excess of dry diethyl ether. It is centrifuged, and the crystals are washed with dry ether. The procedure is repeated, then the product is dissolved in CHCl3, filtered and evaporated. The dye is stored in a vacuum. [Beilstein 18 H 596, 18 III/IV 7361, 18/10 V 181.]
