What type of dye is Hematoxylin classified as?

Hematoxylin is classified as a basic dye. Basic dyes are positively charged and tend to bind to negatively charged components in cells and tissues, such as nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and certain proteins. This property makes basic dyes particularly useful for staining nuclei in histological preparations, as they effectively highlight the genetic material within cells, resulting in a blue or purple coloration.

In contrast, acidic dyes, which are negatively charged, gravitate towards positively charged cellular components, while neutral dyes have properties of both acidic and basic dyes and do not significantly impart color to either type of cellular components. Complex dyes are mixtures of different types of dyes but do not specifically characterize the nature of Hematoxylin, which is primarily a basic dye used widely in histology for staining.