Mordant

A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in cell or tissue preparations. Although mordants are still used, especially by small batch dyers, it has been largely displaced in industry by directs. The term mordant comes from the Latin mordere, 'to bite'. In the past, it was thought that a mordant helped the dye bite onto the fiber so that it would hold fast during washing. A mordant is often a polyvalent metal ion, often chromium(III). The resulting coordination complex of dye and ion is colloidal and can be either acidic or alkaline. Mordants include tannic acid, alum, chrome alum, sodium chloride, and certain salts of aluminium, chromium, copper, iron, iodine, potassium, sodium, tungsten, and tin. KAl(SO4)2 12 H2O Iodine is often referred to as a mordant in Gram stains, but is in fact a trapping agent.