Leishman stain

Leishman's stain (CAS:12627-53-1, EC: 235-732-1, MFCD:00131498), also Leishman stain, is used in microscopy for staining blood smears. It provides excellent stain quality. It is generally used to differentiate and identify leucocytes, malaria parasites, and trypanosomas. It is based on a methanolic mixture of "polychromed" methylene blue (i.e. demethylated into various azures) and eosin. The methanolic stock solution is stable and also serves the purpose of directly fixing the smear eliminating a prefixing step. If a working solution is made by dilution with an aqueous buffer the resulting mixture is very unstable and cannot be used for long. Leishman stain is named after its inventor, the Scottish pathologist William Boog Leishman. It is similar to and partially replaceable with Giemsa stain, Jenner's stain, and Wright's stain (See more details in Advantages disadvantages and comparisons section below). Like them, it is a version of Romanowsky stain.

Many companies sell good quality commercial Leishman Stain in the form of a dry powder. The following cautions should be taken while preparing.

Under the above precautions the powder is to be mixed well into good quality anhydrous methanol in a proportion of 0.6g powder into 400 ml methanol. Using glass beads or a magnetic stirrer or carefully warming to 37 degrees C may help in dissolving.

'An aliquot of the stain (e.g. usually 50-100 ml) should be filtered into a dispensing unit for daily use, and the following storage conditions should be followed.'

...
Wikipedia