The alcoholoic ammonia step is the critical stage of Movat's as it is 
required to convert the Alcian Blue to insoluble Monastral Blue 
so that it will not be removed during the remainder of the
 staining method.  Just follow the AFIP method which uses 10ml of
ammonium hydroxide in 90ml of 95% alcohol.
If you want to simplify things then you can do what we do.  Just 
stain using your usual Alcian blue method(pH2.5), treat with alcoholoic
ammonia for 2 hours then do a routine VVG.  This will stain your elastic
fibres, collagen and glycoproteins as the Movat does with  routine 
stains that are already on your shelf for other methods.

Good luck
regards

Tony Reilly
Chief Scientist
Anatomical Pathology
QHPS-Prince Charles Hospital
Rode rd Chermside Q 4032
Australia
Ph: 07 3350 8543
Fax: 07 33508546
tony_reilly@health.qld.gov.au


>>> "Monfils, Paul"  11/30/05 4:52 am >>>
Does anyone do Movat's Pentachrome stain?  I have a researcher who wants to
do it.  My question involves the "alkaline alcohol" the procedure calls for.
The protocol says to add ammonium hydroxide drop by drop to 95% ethanol
until the pH reaches 8.0 or higher.

Question 1, a theoretical one - How can you accurately measure pH in a
nearly water-free solution?  Presumably an ionic compound would not ionize
very well in such a solution?

Question 2, a practical one - When I put the pH probe into 95% ethanol, the
meter already reads higher than 9.0, even without adding any ammonium
hydroxide. Is this your experience?

_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu 
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet



*****************************************************************
This email, including any attachments sent with it, is
confidential and for the sole use of the intended recipient(s).
This confidentiality is not waived or lost, if you receive it and
you are not the intended recipient(s), or if it is transmitted/
received in error.

Any unauthorised use, alteration, disclosure, distribution or
review of this email is strictly prohibited.  The information
contained in this email, including any attachment sent with
it, may be subject to a statutory duty of confidentiality if it
relates to health service matters.

If you are not the intended recipient(s), or if you have
received this email in error, you are asked to immediately
notify the sender by telephone collect on Australia
+61 1800 198 175 or by return email.  You should also
delete this email, and any copies, from your computer
system network and destroy any hard copies produced.

If not an intended recipient of this email, you must not copy,
distribute or take any action(s) that relies on it; any form of
disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this
email is also prohibited.

Although Queensland Health takes all reasonable steps to
ensure this email does not contain malicious software,
Queensland Health does not accept responsibility for the
consequences if any person's computer inadvertently suffers
any disruption to services, loss of information, harm or is
infected with a virus, other malicious computer programme or
code that may occur as a consequence of receiving this
email.

Unless stated otherwise, this email represents only the views
of the sender and not the views of the Queensland Government.
****************************************************************


_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet