What is the Difference Between Stained and Unstained Cells

The main difference between stained and unstained cells is that stained cells can be better visualized under the microscope than unstained cells.

Stained cells and unstained cells are two types of cells that can be visualized under the microscope. Cellular components such as the nucleus, cell membrane or cell wall, or the entire cell can undergo staining by different types of stains.

Key Areas Covered

1. What are Stained Cells
     – Definition, Features, Importance
2. What are Unstained Cells
     – Definition, Features, Importance
3. Similarities Between Stained and Unstained Cells
     – Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Stained and Unstained Cells
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Stained Cells, Unstained Cells

What are Stained Cells

Stained cells are the cells that undergo the process of cell staining for better visualization under the microscope. Cell staining is a technique that develops color in entire cells or cellular components such as cell walls, cell membranes, and nuclei. It mostly uses fixed cells or non-living cells for staining. The main importance of cell staining is the clear visualization of cells under the microscope. Apart from that, cell visualization occurs in order to highlight metabolic processes, differentiate living cells from non-living cells, etc. Furthermore, cell preparation steps for cell staining include the following steps:

• • Permeabilization – Treating cells with a mild surfactant to dissolve cell membranes in order for large staining molecules to go into the cell.
  • Fixation – Treating cells with chemical fixatives, creating chemical bonds between proteins to increase the rigidity of cells. Formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol, and/or picric acid are examples of fixatives.
  • Mounting – This attaches the cells to a glass surface for observation and analysis. Additionally, some cells can grow directly on the slide, or loose cells can be applied onto the slide.
  • Staining – Stains are important for the visualization of cells, tissues, components of cells, or metabolic processes of cells.

Figure 1: Cells Stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin

Furthermore, some examples of commonly used dyes in cell staining are as follows:

• Bismarck Brown – Colors acid mucin of living cells into yellow color
• Carmine – Colors glycogen, the animal starch, into red color
• Coomassie blue – Colors proteins into brilliant blue color, Important in gel electrophoresis
• Crystal violet – Colors cell walls in purple, Important in Gram staining
• DAPI – A fluorescent nuclear stain, staining DNA in blue color.
• Eosin – Colors red blood cells, cell membranes, cytoplasmic material, and extracellular structures in pink or red color.

What are Unstained Cells

Unstained cells are the normal cells one can observe under the microscope. However, they are not fixed with any cell staining techniques. Therefore, they do not develop any color under the microscope. Moreover, it is difficult to observe unstained cells under the microscope.

Figure 2: Unstained Cells

In addition to that, it is difficult to observe the cellular components of the unstained cells.

Similarities Between Stained and Unstained Cells

• Stained cells and unstained cells are two types of cells that can be observed by the microscope.
• They contain cellular components such as cell walls, cell membranes, and nuclei.

Difference Between Stained and Unstained Cells

Definition

Stained cells refer to the cells that underwent the process of cell staining, while unstained cells refer to the cells that underwent the process of cell staining.  

Importance

Moreover, stained cells can be better visualized under the microscope, while unstained cells are difficult to visualize under the microscope.

Microscopic Observation

Stained cells develop color for entire cells or cellular components such as cell membranes, cell walls, or nuclei, while unstained cells do not develop color in the entire cell or in cellular components.

Conclusion

In brief, stained and unstained cells are two types of cells that can be visualized under the microscope. Stained cells have undergone a process called cell staining, and they develop color in the entire cell or cellular components such as the cell membrane, cell wall, or nucleus. The main importance of stained cells is their ability to clearly visualize under the microscope. On the other hand, unstained cells do not undergo the process of cell staining. Therefore, these cells do not develop color in the entire cell or in cellular components such as cell walls, cell membranes, or nuclei. Moreover, it is difficult to identify unstained cells under the microscope. In brief, the main difference between stained and unstained cells is the clear visualization under the microscope.

References:                     

1. Bruckner, M. Z. “What is Cellular Staining?” Microbial Life. 

Image Courtesy:

1. “Emphysema H and E” By Wars – Own work (CC-BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Puccinia phragmitis 71982071” By bjoerns – Own Work (CC-BY SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia