On Tue, 26 Sep 2000 Boneslides@aol.com wrote:

> I thank you for taking the time to respond.  I have already broached my 
> question on the HistoNet with several responses, all of which were along the 
> lines of "it's a proprietary secret".  

   These must have been private replies. They didn't appear
   on the listserver.
   There is nothing "proprietary" about the MSB method. It was
   published by Lendrum et al. (1962) in J. Clin. Path. 15:401.
   A more accessible place to read about it is in H. C. Cook's
   "Histological Demonstration Techniques," London: Butterworths,
   1974, p.101. There is sometimes some confusion about the red
   dye used in this method. It was originally called brilliant
   crystal scarlet 6R, and is also known as crystal ponceau 6R,
   ponceau 6R, scarlet 6R, and Bordeaux G. To get the real
   stuff, make sure it's C.I. 16250, Acid red 44, whatever the
   trivial name. The name ponceau 6R is more correctly applied
   to C.I. 16290, Acid red 41, which has two additional sulphonic
   acid groups. Amaranth (C.I. 16185, Acid red 27) is another
   closely related monoazo dye that can be used in trichrome
   staining. 

 John A. Kiernan,
 Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology,
 The University of Western Ontario,
 LONDON,  Canada  N6A 5C1
   Phone: (519) 661-2111
   FAX (Department): (519) 661-3936
   E-mail: kiernan@uwo.ca