What is the Difference Between Metachromasia and Metachromatic?

The difference between metachromasia and metachromatic lies in their definitions and the relationship between them:

• Metachromasia refers to the characteristic change in color of staining carried out in biological tissues, exhibited by certain dyes when they bind to particular substances present in these tissues, called chromotropes. For example, toluidine blue becomes dark blue when it binds to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs).
• Metachromatic refers to the dyes that can cause metachromasia. These dyes are capable of producing two different colors when they bind to specific substances in biological tissues. Examples of metachromatic dyes include safranin O and neutral red, which have red orthochromatic staining and yellow metachromatic staining.

In summary, metachromasia is the color change phenomenon observed in biological tissues when certain dyes bind to specific substances, while metachromatic refers to the dyes that can cause this color change.

Comparative Table: Metachromasia vs Metachromatic

Metachromasia and metachromatic are related terms that refer to color changes in dyes and staining, particularly in biological tissues. Here is a table comparing the two terms:

Both metachromasia and metachromatic relate to the phenomena of color change in dyes and staining, making them closely related terms. Metachromasia is the color change itself, while metachromatic dyes are the ones that can cause this color change.