Hi Carolyn,

I taught Histotechnology for over twenty years to over a thousand students 
and I have sen this problems on more than one occasion. Two ideas spring to 
mind immediately.

One, Harris hematoxylin uses aluminum as the mordant, the nuclear staining 
is NOT resistant to the acidified stain solutions that are used in the 
Masson technique. So, don't use Harris' hematoxylin in your Massons. Use an 
iron-mordanted nuclear stain (Weigerts or a similar iron-hematoxylin)

Two,  even when an iron-mordanted hematoxylin has been used, if the staining 
time in the red dye of the Masson is prolonged, the red dye will stain the 
nuclei quite intensely. There are several red dyes or dye-combinations that 
can be used but the maximum staining time should not exceed 5 minutes. 
Longer than this and you will get red nuclei. If you are using a kit, ignore 
the recommended staining time for the red dye and try a time of 3-5 minutes. 
Keep the rest of the procedure the same.

Hope this helps,

Paul


Paul Bradbury, FIMLS, ART
Kamloops, BC Canada





----Original Message Follows----
From: "Demarinis,Carolyn" 
To: "HISTONET (E-mail)" 
Subject: Masson Trichrome stain
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 07:14:44 -0500

Each time we perform a Masson Trichrome stain, the nuclei are bright red.  I
have used Polyscientific and Sigma kits, with both Weigerts and Harris
Hematoxylin.  Can anyone offer any suggestions?
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