Von Kossa stain explained

The von Kossa histological stain is used to quantify mineralization in cell culture and histological sections.

Method

This is a staining method to illustrates mineralization such as calcium and potassium in tissues.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

It is a precipitation reaction in which silver ions react with phosphate in the presence of acidic material. Photochemical degradation of silver phosphate to silver happens under light illumination.

Additional methods need to be employed to confirm the presence of calcium, such as Alizarin Red S.

Notes and References

1. von Kossa J (1901) Ueber die im Organismus kunstlich erzeugbaren Verkalkungen. Beit Path Anat 29:163
2. Clark G (1981) Staining Procedures. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, pp 187
3. Lillie R, Fuller H (1976) Histopathologic technique and practical histochemistry. McGraw-Hill, New York
4. Mallory FB (1983) Pathological techniques: A practical manual for workers in pathological histology including directions for the performance of autopsies and for microphotography. In: Mallory NY (eds) WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, pp 143–144