Mechanisms of chromosome banding. IV. Optical properties of the Giemsa dyes.

A thorough understanding of the mechanisms of R-, C- and G-banding will come only from studies of the binding of Giemsa dyes to isolated and characterized preparations of heterochromatin and euchromatin. Since such studies require an exact knowledge of the optical characteristics of Giemsa, the spectral absorption curves and extinction coefficients of Giemsa and its component dyes at various concentrations in the presence and absence of DNA were determined. - Although Giemsa is a complex mixture of thiazin dyes plus eosin; methylene blue, and azure A, B or C alone gave good banding. Thionin, with no methyl groups, gave poor or no banding. Eosin was not necessary component for banding. - The most striking characteristic of the thiazin dyes is that they are strongly metachromatic, i.e., their absorption spectra and extinction coefficients change as the concentration of the dye increases or as they bind to positively charged compounds (chromotropes). These changes, especially for methylene blue, are described in detail and allow a distinction between concentration dependent binding to DNA by intercalation and binding by side stacking.