Iodine functions as what in staining?

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Multiple Choice

Iodine functions as what in staining?

Explanation:
The main idea is understanding how mordants work in staining. A mordant is a substance that binds the dye to form a larger, less soluble complex, making the dye stay attached to the target tissue or cells during the wash steps. In this staining method, iodine acts as the mordant by binding to crystal violet to form a crystal violet–iodine complex. This complex is bigger and less soluble, so it becomes trapped in the cell wall of cells with a thick peptidoglycan layer. As a result, these cells retain the purple stain after the decolorization step, while other cells that don’t form the same secure complex are decolorized and then counterstained. So iodine’s role is to facilitate dye retention by forming that dye–mordant complex.

The main idea is understanding how mordants work in staining. A mordant is a substance that binds the dye to form a larger, less soluble complex, making the dye stay attached to the target tissue or cells during the wash steps.

In this staining method, iodine acts as the mordant by binding to crystal violet to form a crystal violet–iodine complex. This complex is bigger and less soluble, so it becomes trapped in the cell wall of cells with a thick peptidoglycan layer. As a result, these cells retain the purple stain after the decolorization step, while other cells that don’t form the same secure complex are decolorized and then counterstained. So iodine’s role is to facilitate dye retention by forming that dye–mordant complex.

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