We use saffron - the water is the differentiator so the saffrom comes
out during the staining of the tissues. 

Happy Cutting,
Janci Wellborn, HTL (ASCP)

>>> "Paul Bradbury"  10/25/2006 11:52 AM >>>
As you say, the goal of applying a stain during processing is to 
non-specifically stain the tissue, so it can been seen during
embedding. 
Nuclear fast red would not be a good choice for this purpose because as

the name suggests this is a cationic dye and will stain nuclei, but 
nuclei make up only a small fraction of overall tissue mass. It will
not 
stain connective tissues, muscle, etc. very intensely.

I have been using a strong solution of eosin for this purpose (5 grams

of eosin Y in 100 mL of absolute alcohol). 2-3 mL of the eosin solution

in the last dehydrating alcohol will stain the tissues quite pink. The

dye is not removed from the tissues as the subsequent processing fluids

(xylene and paraffin wax) are not eosin solvents.

All histology have eosin on hand ...  and it is cheap!

Happy embedding,

Paul
Kamloops, BC
Canada

Bernadette Weston wrote:

> Does anyone out there use nuclear fast red at the grossing station on

> their small, clear/whitish specimens so that they can see them better

> during embedding?  Eosin washes out during processing.
>
> Bernadette Weston HT
> Barberton Citizens Hosptital
> Barberton, OH
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Try Search Survival Kits: Fix up your home and better handle your
cash 
> with Live Search! 
>
http://imagine-windowslive.com/search/kits/default.aspx?kit=improve&locale=en-US&source=hmtagline

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



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



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