Dear Ellen,

It sounds like your problem is that you skipped the most crucial step in Trichrome staining: mordanting the stain to the tissue cells.  The normal procudure is to fix tissues in Bouin's fixative.  Or, you could fix tissues in 10% neutral buffered formalin, process, embed, section as you normally would.  Then, place prepared slides in Bouin's fixative at 56 degrees for one hour or room temperature overnight.  I am sure this will solve your problem, as we stain several hundred fetal mouse sections with Masson's Trichrome stain each month with tremendous success.  Good luck!

Tom Galati
Histo-Scientific Research Labs.
107 Killmon Road
P.O. Box 30
Basye, Va  22810
(540)856-2222
fax: (540)856-2227
histosci@shentel.net

Ellen Martin wrote:

> Hi all,
> I have been trying to stain fetal mouse lungs with Sigma's Masson Trichrome Stain kit, and am having some difficulty.  The tissues were fixed in zinc formalin, embedded in parafin, and sectioned at 5 microns.  The tissue stains fine with Biebrich Scarlet-Acid Fuchsin, but the collagen will not stain with Aniline Blue.  I am trying to use the proceedure to study the collagen.  If anyone has successfully accomplished this proceedure in fetal mouse tissue, I would really like to talk to you, or if anyone has successfully stained collagen in fetal tissue by another meathod, please let me know about it.
> Thanks,
> Ellen Martin
> Oregon Regional Primate Research Center
> Portland, OR