Bob Skinner had a stain he said worked, they gave a scientific session on
that some years ago at NSH convention. You could contact him.

However, Toluidine blue, being very polychromatic, will stain bacteria, and
I would not etch the plastic away from the bone/stent  You would have to
know the morphology of the bacteria (rods or cocci) and it will not tell
you whether it is gram negative or positive 

Played with a Giemsa stain on etched bone sections in plastic, it was
horrible, very washed out.  I don't think the hydrophobic nature of the
plastic would permit a true Gram stain, but T blue is certainly an option
to try, you can alway repolish to get rid of the surface stain to try
something else.



Gayle Callis
MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology - Marsh Lab
Montana State University - Bozeman
19th and Lincoln St
Bozeman MT 59717-3610

406 994-6367
406 994-4303 (FAX)