Re: Alcec Blue & mast cell staining
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From: | "J. A. Kiernan" <jkiernan@julian.uwo.ca> (by way of histonet) |
To: | histonet@histosearch.com |
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On Wed, 5 Jan 2000, Jim Manavis wrote:
> I am after some help looking for a discontinued product from Sigma-Aldridge
> called Alcec Blue which is a histochemical stain being used for
> discrimination of mast cells.
Alcec blue was (? still is) a substitute for alcian blue.
The name is a trademark of the Hoechst company for a dye
synthesized by JE Scott (J. Microsc. 119:373, 1980). A short
account is given by F. Green in the Sigma-Aldrich Handbook of
Stains, Dyes and Indicators (1991), p.69-70.
You should have no difficulty obtaining alcian blue. Sigma-Aldrich
also sell a "pyridine variant" of alcian blue, which may be more
stable than the original dye. For fairly selective staining of
mast cells, use a solution of the dye at pH 1.0. In fact, any
basic (cationic) dye used at pH 1 will stain mast cells and other
objects that contain sulphated carbohydrates. The advantage of
alcian blue is that it is not removed by subsequently applied
other stains or solvents.
John A. Kiernan,
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology,
The University of Western Ontario,
LONDON, Canada N6A 5C1
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