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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