Karine, Either Hx will do, though I would not have used a haematoxylin since it will lake with the calcium forming a blue stained deposit. I would expect it to mask the silver of the von-kossa stain.
I would recommend 1% neutral red, ethylene green or even a light eosin counterstain. The silver "stained" calcium deposits should then stand out quite well. Regards Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC) Laboratory Manager & Senior Scientist Tel: 612 9845 3306 Fax: 612 9845 3318 the children's hospital at westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of karine cadoret Sent: Friday, 17 July 2009 12:35 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] VonKossa's calcium stain Hi, When doing a VonKossa stain in order to demonstrate calcium in tissue, does it matter much if I use Mayer's hematoxylin instead of Ehrlich's hematoxylin (which takes 6 months to ripen) ? Also, can I simply use homemade scott's tapwater for blueing instead of using a lithium carbonate solution ? Thank you for your help, Karine Cadoret Fish health laboratory manager National Center for Marine Conservation and Resource Sustainability Newnham, TAS Australia _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ********************************************************************* This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender. Views expressed in this message and any attachments are those of the individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of The Children's Hospital at Westmead This note also confirms that this email message has been virus scanned and although no computer viruses were detected, The Childrens Hospital at Westmead accepts no liability for any consequential damage resulting from email containing computer viruses. ********************************************************************** _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet