Hi,

I asked the question about pink in Tol Blue sections. I am using epon to
embed optic nerve sections. The myelinated axons are blue and the corpora
amylacea are pink. There are also other structures which look to be
membranous which also stain pink.

Anila


----- Original Message -----
From: Gayle Callis <uvsgc@montana.edu>
To: <histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 4:05 PM
Subject: Toludine blue on plastic sections


> No one is specifying which plastic is being used in these procedures???
>
> I don't recall pink anywhere, on either GMA or PMMA embedded tissue.
When
> used on undecalcified bone, cartilage, particularly articular, will stain
> in shades of violet to purple.  Red blood cells tend to look a tidge
> greenish blue with toluidine blue, more to the blue color.  If you want to
> have a range of other colors, it would be better to use a Giemsa, or
Wright
> Giemsa, remove PMMA plastic or try it on GMA embedded soft tissues.
> I find Toluidine blue better for cartilage staining on plastic sections,
> even thicker ground undecalcified bone sections surface stained with a
> phosphate buffered (pH 8) toluidine blue.  Played with Giemsa on a PMMA
> embedded bone section and it was not very good, looked very washed out. If
> it is a thin PMMA section with plastic removed, it should be excellent.
>
> Have also used Giemsa on thin GMA sections, soft tissues, with good
> results, basically any standard method, although things tend to be bluer
> until the sections were flash rinsed with 95% ethanol,(squirt bottle,
slide
> tilted vertically) and air dried immediately with forced air.
>
>
> Gayle Callis
> MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
> Histopathology Supervisor
> Veterinary Molecular Biology
> Montana State University - Bozeman
> Bozeman MT 59717-3610
>
> 406 994-6367
> 404 994-4303 (FAX)
>
>