Biological Stain Commission
Encyclopedia
The BSC is an 85 year-old organization well known to many thousands of scientists, worldwide but especially in N America, who buy certified dye
s for staining of microscopic preparations
or for making up selective culture media for bacteria
. Manufacturers and other vendors submit samples from their batches of dyes to the BSC's independent laboratory in Rochester NY. The BSC's certification label on a bottle of dye indicates that the contents are from a batch that passed the tests for for chemical purity and for efficacy as a biological stain. These tests are published (Penney et al 2002a).
The BSC is a non-profit organization, incorporated in the State of New York, for the purpose of ensuring a supply of high quality stains (mostly dyes) for use in biological and medical laboratories. Its origins date from 1922, when vendors of biological stains in the USA had exhausted their stocks of pre-war dyes imported from Germany. American dye manufacturers were unable to produce products that were consistently reliable in histological microtechnique and bacteriology (Conn 1980–1981; Penney 2000).
The Commission's testing laboratory was initially at the Agriculture Experimental Station in Geneva, NY, directed by Dr Harold Conn. Since 1947 the laboratory has been located at the University of Rochester Medical College, Rochester, NY. Currently about 55 individual dyes and about 5 mixtures of different dyes are certified by the BSC. The assays and other tests used in the Commission's laboratory are all published, making the required standards known to both vendors and users of biological stains (Penney et al 2002a,b).
Since 1925 the BSC has published a scientific journal, named Stain Technology until 1991, when the name was changed to Biotechnic & Histochemistry
.
The annual meetings of the BSC are held at the end of the first week in June, in cities easily accessible by air from major centers in North America and Europe. These meetings include scientific sessions with presentations by invited speakers in such disciplines as cancer biology, neuroscience, pathology and plant sciences. There are also informal presentations and exchanges of information among academic biologists, medical scientists, pathologists, and representatives of companies that manufacture and sell biological stains.
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
s for staining of microscopic preparations
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
or for making up selective culture media for bacteria
Growth medium
A growth medium or culture medium is a liquid or gel designed to support the growth of microorganisms or cells, or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens.There are different types of media for growing different types of cells....
. Manufacturers and other vendors submit samples from their batches of dyes to the BSC's independent laboratory in Rochester NY. The BSC's certification label on a bottle of dye indicates that the contents are from a batch that passed the tests for for chemical purity and for efficacy as a biological stain. These tests are published (Penney et al 2002a).
The BSC is a non-profit organization, incorporated in the State of New York, for the purpose of ensuring a supply of high quality stains (mostly dyes) for use in biological and medical laboratories. Its origins date from 1922, when vendors of biological stains in the USA had exhausted their stocks of pre-war dyes imported from Germany. American dye manufacturers were unable to produce products that were consistently reliable in histological microtechnique and bacteriology (Conn 1980–1981; Penney 2000).
The Commission's testing laboratory was initially at the Agriculture Experimental Station in Geneva, NY, directed by Dr Harold Conn. Since 1947 the laboratory has been located at the University of Rochester Medical College, Rochester, NY. Currently about 55 individual dyes and about 5 mixtures of different dyes are certified by the BSC. The assays and other tests used in the Commission's laboratory are all published, making the required standards known to both vendors and users of biological stains (Penney et al 2002a,b).
Since 1925 the BSC has published a scientific journal, named Stain Technology until 1991, when the name was changed to Biotechnic & Histochemistry
Biotechnic & Histochemistry
Biotechnic & Histochemistry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers all aspects of histochemistry and microtechnic in the biological sciences from botany to cell biology to medicine. It is published bimonthly in print and online by Informa on behalf of the Biological Stain Commission...
.
The annual meetings of the BSC are held at the end of the first week in June, in cities easily accessible by air from major centers in North America and Europe. These meetings include scientific sessions with presentations by invited speakers in such disciplines as cancer biology, neuroscience, pathology and plant sciences. There are also informal presentations and exchanges of information among academic biologists, medical scientists, pathologists, and representatives of companies that manufacture and sell biological stains.