A coloured solution intended to be used to permanently mark the surgical margins and/or other general areas of interest on a tissue biopsy specimen; it is not intended to stain a tissue section for the visualization of intra/extracellular elements. It is one of a set, or a set of multiple colours (e.g., red, blue, black, green, violet and/or orange) which can withstand tissue processing (e.g., tissue fixation, freezing) without fading or bleeding. Applicators for precise marking or spreading of the dye onto the tissue specimen may be included.