Hello Kimberly,

         I have not used chromic acid  as the oxidizer in the GMS procedure 
for years. 4% periodic acid for 5 minutes will give you the same results. 
The original procedure used chromic acid for 1 hour at room temperature.

Rena Fail AS HT(ASCP)
MUSC
Charleston,SC




At 01:47 PM 12/7/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear HistoNet colleagues,
>      It is great to have HistoNet working again!  Thank you to those of 
> you who responded to my posting.  I got some leads on staining for fungi 
> and spirochetes, but I still have some questions.
>      Has anyone done Grocott's Methenamine Silver (GMS) without heating 
> the chromic acid?  I heard that it is possible to oxidize in the chromic 
> acid for an hour instead of heating it, but I do not have a procedure.
>      Also, I am looking for a procedure for Steiner Chapman because that 
> replaces the uranium/uranyl nitrate with some type of zinc solution.
>      I would be very grateful for any help you could provide.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Kimberly Atkin HT (ASCP)
>Boston, MA
>
>
>In a message dated Tue, 5 Dec 2000  8:52:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
>Kimcatk writes:
>
><< Dear HistoNet colleagues,
>
>      I am seeking to replace some staining procedures in my laboratory 
> with NON-microwave methods.  Optimally, I am hoping to find stains that 
> are free of heavy metals or any particularly toxic or dangerous 
> components.  I can not use mercury.
>
>      I need to find staining protocols or kits to demonstrate the following:
>
>Fungal organisms
>Spirochetes, Campylobacter, and Legionella organisms
>
>      In addition, the gram stain procedure I use is very cumbersome and I 
> would be extremely grateful for a simpler method.
>
>      Thank you all very much in advance for your help.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Kimberly Atkin HT (ASCP)
>
>Boston, Massachusetts
>
>  >>