Synacril black AN. A new stain for normal and abnormal human megakaryocytes

After methanol fixation and ribonuclease digestion, normal and abnormal human megakaryocytes displayed intense red-purple coloration of the cytoplasm and dark brown nuclei when stained with the cationic textile dye Synacril black AN. In other marrow cells, cytoplasm stained cream color or pale blue in the case of eosinophils. In eosinophils, granules stained pink. As a complement to more complex immunologic technics, staining of megakaryocytes with Synacril black AN may represent a rapid screening method for identification of these cells.