To all Histonetters in the UK, a company called Solmedia currently has
stocks as I've just managed to purchase 50gms of 8GX off of them for a
reasonable price.
I believe ICI was one of the principal manufacturers of the dye, as a by
product of another process that they no longer carry out, Hence the world
wide shortage.

Nick Kirk
Histopathology
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
Huntingdon
England

-----Original Message-----
From: John Kiernan [mailto:jkiernan@uwo.ca]
Sent: 21 July 2003 19:20
To: Richard Cartun (by way of Histonet)
Cc: HistoNet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Re: Alcian Blue


The dye is sold by Anatech and also by a Chinese
company. Both send their products to the Biological
Stain Commission for certification. If you look at
any recent issue of Biotechnic & Histochemistry you
will find sources in the "Stains recently certified"
section at the end.

There are also look-alike variants of alcian blue 8G,
notably the "pyridine variant." This is also OK.
See Churukian et al 2000. Biotech. Histochem.
75:147-150 and also the new "Conn's," Chapter 26.
With the pyridine variant the stain is not 100%
resistant to extraction by later acidic reagents,
as it is with alcian blue 8G, but for most purposes
this does not matter. See Conn's for explanations;
also A.Henwood 2002 in Biotech. Histochem. 77:93-94.
--
-------------------------
John A. Kiernan
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
The University of Western Ontario
London,   Canada   N6A 5C1
   kiernan@uwo.ca
   http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan/
________________________________________________
"Richard Cartun (by way of Histonet)" wrote:
>
> I have been told that "Alcian Blue 8 GX" (used for histochemical
> staining at pH 1.0 & 2.5) is no longer available from Mallinckrodt.  Is
> this true?  Are there any satisfactory substitutes?  Thank you.
>
> Richard Cartun