Diff-Quik is a commercial Romanowsky stain variant used to rapidly stain and differentiate a variety of pathology specimens. It is most frequently used for blood films and cytopathological smears, including fine needle aspirates. The Diff-Quik procedure is based on a modification of the Wright-Giemsa stain pioneered by Harleco in the 1970s, and has advantages over the routine Wright-Giemsa staining technique in that it reduces the 4-minute process into a much shorter operation and allows for selective increased eosinophilic or basophilic staining depending upon the time the smear is left in the staining solutions. DiffQuik Staining Procedure Solutions required Fixative (Fast green in methanol) - pale green colour Stain solution 1 (Eosin G in phosphate buffer) - red colour Stain solution 2 (Thiazine dye in phosphate buffer) - blue colour Method Allow smears to dry Dip slide or tape-strip five times, for one second each, into Fixative. Allow excess to drain after each dip. Dip slide or tape-strip five times, for one second each, into Stain 1. Allow excess to drain after each dip. Dip slide or tape-strip five times, for one second each, into Stain 2. Allow excess to drain after each dip. Rinse slide or tape-strip in distilled water or Weise's buffer, pH 7.2. Stick tape strip to slide (sticky side down) and remove excess tape. Blot or allow to dry in air. Examine at low power to identify structures and then under oil immersion. MSDS RAL Diff Quik
