What is the Difference Between Vital and Supravital Staining

The key difference between vital and supravital staining is that vital staining is a type of staining technique that can be applied both in vivo and in vitro, while supravital staining is a type of staining technique that can be applied only in vitro.

Vital staining is a type of staining that can be used to examine living cells. There are two types: intravital and supravital staining. When vital staining is used in vivo or in living cells inside the body, it is referred to as intra-vital staining. On the other hand, when vital staining is applied in vitro or in living cells outside the body, it is known as supravital staining. Therefore, vital and supravital staining are two correlated terms.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Vital Staining
3. What is Supravital Staining
4. Similarities – Vital and Supravital Staining
5. Vital vs Supravital Staining in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Vital vs Supravital Staining

What is Vital Staining?

Vital staining is a type of staining technique for living cells both in vivo and in vitro. It means this technique can be used to examine living cells that are inside the body (intravital) as well as outside the body (supravital). Intravital staining is normally used to examine gastric mucosa and oral mucosa. On the other hand, supravital staining is normally used to examine leukocytes, nerve fibers, and nerve endings. This technique was first described by English anatomist John Hunter in the eighteenth century. Most of the stains used in this technique are dyes from the textile industry. These dyes are diluted to a large extent before they are used to examine the living cells.

The principal behind vital staining is that the particles of coloured matter (stain or dye) are engulfed by macrophages in the cells. The uptake of dye is due to phagocytosis. Because of this, the coloured particles are seen within the cytoplasm of the cell. Furthermore, the stains used for intravital staining include toluidine blue, Lugol’s iodine, methylene blue, acetic acid, and rose bengal, while the stains used for supravital staining include DIOC, Janus green stain, Rhoda mine 123, trypan blue, and Nile red.

What is Supravital Staining?

Supravital staining is a type of staining technique for living cells that only uses in vitro. It means this technique can be used to examine living cells that are only outside the body. The stains used for supravital staining include DIOC, Janus green stain, Rhoda mine 123, trypan blue, and Nile red. In 1923 Sabin gave the first description of supravital staining of human white blood cells.

The most common supravital stain is performed on reticulocytes using new methylene blue or brilliant cresyl blue. Furthermore, supravital staining can be combined with cell surface antibody staining or immunofluorescence for applications such as FACS analysis.

What are the Similarities Between Vital and Supravital Staining?

• Vital and supravital staining are two staining techniques to examine living cells.
• Vital and supravital staining are two correlated terms.
• Both staining techniques use the same principle.
• They are histochemical techniques.
• Both techniques have wider applications.

What is the Difference Between Vital and Supravital Staining?

Vital staining is a type of staining technique that can be applied both in vivo and in vitro, while supravital staining is a type of staining technique that can be applied only in vitro. Thus, this is the key difference between vital and supravital staining. Furthermore, vital staining was first described by John Hunter in the eighteenth century, while supravital staining was first described by Sabin in 1923.

The below infographic presents the differences between vital and supravital staining in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Vital vs Supravital Staining

Vital and supravital staining are two staining techniques to examine living cells. Vital and supravital staining are two correlated terms. Vital staining is a type of staining technique for living cells that can be applied both in vivo and in vitro. However, supravital staining is a type of vital staining that can be applied only in vitro. So, this is the key difference between vital and supravital staining.

Reference:

1. K, Nitya, et al. “Vital Staining- Pivotal Role in the Field of Pathology.” Annals of Cytology and Pathology.
2. “Supravital Staining.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Mitochondrial observation in epidermal layer of cassia occidentalis, stained with Janus green b” By Krishna satya 333 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Reticulocytes Human Blood Supravital Stain” By Ed Uthman, MD, pathologist, Houston, Texas, USA – Own work, (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia