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Glite Dictionary
to destain

to destain

9.0
To remove dye from a laboratory sample to make details visible under a microscope
  • verb
  • /dɪˈsteɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desmanchar
  • Following electrophoresis, the gel was stained for 15 minutes in ethidium bromide solution and destained for 10 minutes in distilled water.

Examples

  • The researcher carefully destained the slides to enhance the contrast of the cell structures viewed through the lens.

  • After staining the tissue samples, the scientist destained them to improve visibility under the microscope.

  • To get a clearer image, he needed to destain the specimen before examining it under the microscope.

Synonyms

to deterge
vsto destain
  • Archaic
9.9

To clean a wound or the skin by washing away dirt and germs

removes stains from lab specimens to enhance microscope contrast

Antonyms

to stain
113 3.2

To put color on something to change how it looks

How Clean

to decolorize
  • US
7.0
to destain
  • Specialized
9.0
to wash
941 1.0
to rinse
83 1.0
wipe
18 1.0

Surface Forms

destain infinitive
destained past
destained past participle
destaining present participle
destains third person singular

Morphology

destain = stain (transparent) = de + stain

This is a regular reversative use of de- with 'stain', meaning to remove staining from something.

Etymology

The word destain breaks into the prefix de- meaning 'remove' and stain meaning 'a mark or spot', so it literally means 'remove a stain'. In labs, to destain is to take a stain off a sample so its details show more clearly under a microscope.