Which of the following contains aluminum ammonium sulfate?

• A. Harris Hematoxylin
• B. Ehrlichs Hematoxylin
• C. Gill's Hematoxylin
• D. Weigert's Hematoxylin

Answer: (A)

In hematoxylin staining, a mordant is used to form a stable lake with the dye so it binds strongly to tissue, especially nuclear material. Aluminum ammonium sulfate serves as that mordant in the Harris hematoxylin formulation, so the stain includes aluminum as part of the stain itself. This combination creates a durable, crisp nuclear stain by forming the hematoxylin-aluminum lake that attaches well to basophilic structures like DNA and RNA.

The other hematoxylin formulations are based on different mordants or staining approaches, so they do not rely on aluminum ammonium sulfate in the same way. Hence, Harris hematoxylin is the one that contains aluminum ammonium sulfate.