What is "trypan blue"

n. A blue azo dye that was once used as a trypanocide.

Trypan blue is a vital stain used to selectively colour dead tissues or cells blue. It is a diazo dye.

Live cells or tissues with intact cell membranes are not coloured. Since cells are very selective in the compounds that pass through the membrane, in a viable cell trypan blue is not absorbed; however, it traverses the membrane in a dead cell. Hence, dead cells are shown as a distinctive blue colour under a microscope. Since live cells are excluded from staining, this staining method is also described as a dye exclusion method. This dye may be a cause of certain birth defects such as encephalocele.