Product Overview :
PAS staining is a routine histopathological method for detecting glycogen and other polysaccharides. Introduced by McManus in 1946, this technique visualizes glycogen, neutral mucins, certain acidic substances, cartilage, pituitary tissue, fungi, pigments, amyloid, and basement membranes. Periodic acid oxidizes 1,2-glycol groups to aldehydes, which react with Schiff reagent to form a magenta-colored compound. Oxidation conditions must be carefully controlled to avoid overoxidation. PAS detects multiple classes of mucosubstances but does not distinguish glycogen from mucins unless combined with enzymatic digestion.
D-PAS staining differentiates glycogen from other PAS-positive substances by enzymatic digestion prior to PAS staining. Paired tissue sections are prepared; one is treated with amylase-containing buffer, and the other serves as a control. Following PAS staining, loss of staining in the digested section confirms the presence of glycogen.
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