EcoStain

Anthocyanins from plant residues as an ecological alternative to histochemical staining

The intent of this project is to develop a local, biological and circular alternative to Hematoxylin-Eosin Staining (HE staining), a histological staining technique that to date has been the standard in the microscopic examination of human and animal tissue.

HE staining combines the use of two dyes. On the one hand, hematoxylin, a dye extracted from wood chips of the Central American tree species Haematoxylum campechianum or Campêche tree. On the other hand, the synthetic dye eosin Y, a chemical derivative of fluorescein formed by bromination.

An ecological alternative to these dyes was found in anthocyanin, a dye found in red cabbage, among others. The dye can be relatively easily extracted from the outer, non-consumable leaves of red cabbage supplied by a local agricultural cooperative. The adequacy of the extract obtained as a dye for histological material was already established experimentally during an experimental research phase in preparation for this project.

However, before anthocyanin staining can offer a scientifically and circular-economically mature alternative as a standard histological staining technique, several essential steps still need to be taken, such as there are:

• Scaling up the supply of the plant residual stream: maximizing collection of non-consumable red cabbage leaves from organic farm 't Schaaphof in Landegem and expanding partnerships with other local organic farms;
• Optimization of the extraction process: research on limiting the alcohol percentage of the extraction product with the aim of achieving a maximum balance between yield and biodegradability of the extraction product, in partnership with BIT-O (PBa Chemistry of Odisee);
• Validation of the staining process: comparative quality study of anthocyanin staining with current HE staining in partnership with AZ Sint-Lucas in Ghent;
• Economic feasibility study: investigation of economic feasibility of the alternative color protocol in partnership with CenSE (PBa Business Administration of Odisee)