light green SF yellowish

Light green SF yellowish is a synthetic triarylmethane dye primarily used as a histological stain, especially for collagen fibers in tissue sections[1][2][3][4][6]. It is a standard counterstain in North American histology labs and is an essential component of Masson's trichrome and Papanicolaou stains, where it imparts blue-green coloration to the cytoplasm of certain cell types[1][6]. The dye typically exists as a disodium salt with maximum absorption at approximately 630 nm[1][2]. While it was once used as a food colorant, its use for this purpose has been discontinued due to low popularity and poor durability (tendency to fade)[2][6]. In clinical diagnostics, sterile strips containing the dye are sometimes used for detecting superficial corneal or conjunctival tissue changes[2]. Its mechanism of action involves selective binding to specific tissue components (such as collagen), enabling their visualization under microscopy.

Brand names

Greenglo

Other names

light green SF yellowish