Hello Heike,

We have always used Scott's tap water substitute:
80g Magnesium sulphate; 10g Na dihydrogen carbonate, 4liters distilled
water. We make up this quantity, add a few crystals iof thymol to keep the
bugs out. After staining i  haem, rinse slides in running water,  and then
place in the scott's solution 30 sec  to 1 minute - if the sections are
large, you will be able to visually monitor the degree of "blueness". (as
far as I know, though, you cannot "overblue")

Best regards
louise taylor


-----Original Message-----
From: Weems, Joyce [mailto:JWEEMS@sjha.org]
Sent: 12 September 2000 10:54
To: 'Heike Grabsch'; histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: RE: blueing tissue sections


Well, never had trees from the lithium, but you might try ammonium hydroxide
- a few drops or your tissue will fall off though! Bless your heart for
doing the work yourself! It'll be good training - it really will! J:>)
Joyce Weems
Pathology Manager
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta


	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Heike Grabsch [SMTP:h.grabsch@uni-koeln.de]
	Sent:	Tuesday, September 12, 2000 10:59 PM
	To:	histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
	Subject:	blueing tissue sections

	I am a learning-by-doing-histotechnologist (I am a resident (medical

	doctor) in pathology and now have to do my research work by myself,
	because my technician is pregnant)and I need some advice:

	what can I use instead of hot running tap water for blueing the
tissue
	sections after Mayer's hematoxylin? Our hot tap water is really ugly

	brown and it takes "hours" until it is clean.
	Today I tried 0.5% lithium carbonate for 30 sec. The colour is very
nice,
	however I have got a lot of "arbored" precipitates (like small
trees, if
	you understand what I mean) on top of the tissue, I washed and
washed
	with buffer, with dist. water, with dist. water and Triton X, but I
could
	not get rid of this precipitates. What is the problem with lithium
	carbonate as a blueing solution? Or may be it is the concentration?
	Any suggestions what to use instead?


	thank you for your help,

	Dr. Heike Grabsch
	Dept of Pathology
	University of Duesseldorf
	Germany