Its just simple economics. If labs around the world currently use 100kg a year 
but only the Russian "home labs" produce 10kg a year and they are limited by 
the quantity of chemicals that they can "procure", then there will be a 
substantial shortfall. Prices will climb simply rise to equalize supply and 
demand. There are plenty of chemicals more expensive than gold: osmium 
tetroxide (5x); ruthenium red (6x); digitonin (10x); gold chloride (7x); 
pyronin Y (8x); indium trichloride (6x) and the cost of  immuno gold runs off 
our scale.
Point is, that unless lots of labs switch as much as possible away from Alcian 
Blue, prices are sure to rise - fast and far.
I don't keep tab of Alcian Blue prices, especially since we no longer have any. 
So maybe somebody in Histoland would post a message when they pay US$9 / gram 
(price of gold). That will be the day to wear that jar as a pendant around your 
neck Diana!
Cheers
Jim Darley
ProSciTech                 Microscopy PLUS
PO Box 111, Thuringowa  QLD  4817  Australia
Ph +61 7 4774 0370  Fax:+61 7 4789 2313  service@proscitech.com
Great microscopy catalogue, 500 Links, MSDS, User Notes
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On Wednesday, July 12, 2000 5:00 AM, Goodwin, Diana [SMTP:DGoodwin@CHSNJ.org] 
wrote:
> 	Gentlemen:
>
> 	After reading through your e-mail threads, I hurried back to my
> 	ancient storage closet where I keep solid reagents now, since
> ready made
> 	solutions became available.  Lo and behold, what do I find but a
> dusty jar
> 	of Alcian Blue 8GX!
>
> 	Jim, please let me know when the price reaches that of gold!
>
>
> Diana Goodwin,  HT
> Trenton,  NJ
>
>
> > ----------
> > From: 	Mark Ray[SMTP:darkdaym@earthlink.net]
> > Sent: 	Friday, July 07, 2000 2:47 PM
> > To: 	jim; J. A. Kiernan
> > Cc: 	Histonet
> > Subject: 	RE: Alcian Blue for ... [urban myths]
> >
> > John,
> >
> > I was not quite correct in saying that Aldrich had sold out their last
> > batch of Alcian Blue 8GX.  At the present moment they have 1x5g and
> > 1x25g
> > cat no 236551 in stock.  When we  attempted to purchase a
> > manufacturing
> > quantity this spring, they told us that it was unavailable.  I guess
> > they
> > still had some small packages, but it looks bleak for the present.
> > Hopefully the pyridine derivative will become generally available.
> >
> > Mark Ray
> > EK Industries
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: J. A. Kiernan <jkiernan@julian.uwo.ca>
> > > To: jim <jim@proscitech.com.au>
> > > Cc: Histonet <Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
> > > Date: 7/7/00 1:30:20 AM
> > > Subject: RE: Alcian Blue for ... [urban myths]
> > >
> > > On Thu, 6 Jul 2000, Jim Darley wrote:
> > >
> > > > Here is the note from our wholesaler/ manufacturer:
> > > >
> > > > "Thank you for your E Mail concerning Alcian Blue 8GX. As per
> > previous
> > > > correspondence the problem is with us and will not disappear.
> > > > The last 3 years we found some old ICI material (low dye content
> > 10-20%), which
> > > > we upgraded. That has come to an end; no company in the world to
> > our
> > knowledge
> > > > is producing the material, textile quality or stains quality. ..."
> > >
> > > > ... a 1996 CD ROM will not reveal anything that has happened
> > during
> > > > the past three years.
> > >
> > >   That's true; I don't have the 1999 version of the C.I. CD-ROM.
> > >   However, on May 11th 1999 the Biol Stain Commission certified a
> > >   batch of alcian blue 8GX for the Aldrich Chemical Company. See
> > >   Biotech. & Histochem. 74 (5) p. 274 (Sept 1999). So there must
> > >   have been some new stuff around last year.
> > >
> > >   Alcian blue 8GX (dye content approx 50%) is in the Sigma
> > >   and Aldrich catalogues for 2000-2001; same price as
> > >   haematoxylin. (Curiously, both dyes are about $10 cheaper for
> > >   25 grams if you buy from Sigma rather than Aldrich. Strange,
> > >   when they're the same company! In the Fluka catalogue for
> > >   1999-2000 - also the same firm, I think - the prices of both
> > >   dyes are some $20 higher than Aldrich's.) Aldrich also supply
> > >   a "pyridine variant" of alcian blue, which is more expensive,
> > >   and in the past they sold another variant called "alcec blue,"
> > >   which could also be used for the same staining methods (see
> > >   F. Green 1991: The Sigma-Aldrich Handbook of Stains, Dyes and
> > >   Indicators, p. 69-72).
> > >
> > >   A low dye content such as the 10-20% in your old ICI material
> > >   is not necessarily a bad thing for alcian blue, and batches
> > >   with high dye content (70% +) often perform badly. It seems
> > >   likely that the additives (dextrin, boric acid etc) are
> > >   needed in adequate amount.
> > >
> > >  John A. Kiernan,
> > >  Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology,
> > >  The University of Western Ontario,
> > >  LONDON,  Canada  N6A 5C1
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- Mark Ray
> > --- darkdaym@earthlink.net
> > --- EarthLink: It's your Internet.
> >
> >
> >