Try using a 0.5% acetic acid solution to differentiate the Giemsa,
instead of the
colophonium. Or, if you really want to slow down the differentiation,
try about 2-4
drops (from an eye dropper) of the acetic acid in a coplin jar of d.
water (40-50 mL).
Just remember, running up through the alcohols afterwards also further
differentiates.
So slightly underdifferentiate in the acetic acid solution, and finish
differentiating
in the 95% alcohol. Use the microscope at both the acetic acid and
alcohol steps.

********************************

Peggy A. Wenk, HTL(ASCP)
William Beaumont Hospital
Royal Oak, MI 48073

Sarah Christo wrote:
> 
> Hello Netters,
>   I'm posting this for Bill Fisher, any suggestions would be appreciated.  I have rosin powder (Fisher R-308, his procedure uses R-307) but was wondering if there isn't a procedure that doesn't require it at all.   -Sarah
> 
> >From Bill Fisher:
> Dear Sarah,
> Hi. As I mentioned on the phone I wanted to follow a procedure published by Askenase et. al. 1976, J.Immunol. 117:1721-1730 and used by this group for a number of years after to identify basophils in the skin of animals. They
> used Giemsa stain on paraffin slides according to the method of McNamara as modified by Putt. In it they decolorized using colophonium(rosin, white lumps Fisher Sci. R-307). The white rosin is no longer available. Do you
> have a procedure that decolorizes basophils in the skin of cattle or another procedure that works well with cattle skin for the identification of basophils and eosinophils? In the 1976 paper they were quite specific about the decorization of the basophils as too much decorization could render them indisquishable from eosinophils.
> 
> Any help along this line would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> Bill Fisher
> 
> William F. Fisher
> Microbiologist
> USDA,ARS, KBUSLIRL
> 2700 Fredericksburg Rd
> Kerrville, TX 78028
> Phone:8307920328
> Fax:8307920314
> Email:bfisher@ktc.com
> 
> Sarah Christo, HT (ASCP)
> Texas A&M University
> College of Veterinary Medicine
> Dept. of Vet. Anatomy & Public Health
> College Station, TX  77868-4458
> schristo@cvm.tamu.edu