A momentous day.

From:Ian Montgomery

        As I was getting ready to stain a batch of slides with Masson this morning I finally finished a bottle of phosphomolybdic acid dated, 17 July 1956. 47 years old and still working as new, is this a record. None of your cheap plastic bottles here, this is an amber powder bottle for 500g. At the time the University paid 2 shillings deposit for the bottle, I wonder if BDH will still honour the deposit?
        When I looked up the current BHD (Merck) catalogue to re-order not only has the name changed, dodeca-Molybdophosphoric acid, but the price left me trembling at the knees, 229.32PS (~344$). I know I'm just a reactionary old histologist, but a Masson is hard to match. So rather than 5% dodeca-Molybdophosphoric acid it'll be a lower strength and longer differentiation.
        A question for John Kiernan if he's reading this posting. In your current Histological and Histochemical Methods you use a PMA-PTA mixture to differentiate Biebrich scarlet. Do you have any experience using this differentiator for Ponceau Acid Fuchsin? I imagine it will be almost the same but time might be different. Interestingly you state that it will keep working for 5 years despite the colour change.  Does differentiation just take longer with use and age or is there a termination point? Last question, Biebrich scarlet and Ponceau acid fuchsin, any reason you prefer Biebrich scarlet?
Ian.  

Dr. Ian Montgomery,
Histotechnology,
Graham Kerr Building,
Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences,
University of Glasgow,
Glasgow,
G12 8QQ.
Tel: 0141 339 8855
Office: 4652
Lab: 6644.
Pager: 07625 702883
e-mail: ian.montgomery@bio.gla.ac.uk


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