Toludine blue on plastic sections

From:Gayle Callis <uvsgc@montana.edu>

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)




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