Alizarin Red, an anthraquinone derivative, may be used to identify calcium in tissue sections and cultured cells in vitro. The reaction is not strictly specific for calcium, since magnesium, manganese, barium, strontium, and iron may interfere, but these elements usually do not occur in sufficient concentration to interfere with the staining. Calcium forms an Alizarin Red S-calcium complex in a chelation process, and the end product is a bright red stain. Alizarin red is a commonly used stain to identify calcium containing osteocyte in differentiated culture of both human and rodent mesenchymal stem cells.
Synonyms: Alizarin Red S
Application: Research Sub CategoryOsteobiologyArthritis