Allison Scott at LBJ Hospital in Houston, Texas asks about the use of eosin to dye small biopsy specimens.
Several replies mention addition of eosin to one of the processing alcohols. I have never seen this done, in maybe 60 pathology services I've worked in. (I'd know, because I nearly always examine the paraffin block when I order recuts or send a case out for consultation.) It's a fine time-waster for the pathologist to mark small specimens with dye while grossing. I've used Mercurochrome (merbromin, related to eosin but with 26% mercury) which fortunately was banned in the USA about ten years ago. I've used eosin, and I've used safranin (from the microbiology lab's Gram stain setup). I don't know whether safranin interferes with FISH, as eosin is well known to, nor do I know if you can put safranin in the processing alcohol. And I've used Davidson tissue marking inks. I've never seen or heard of cobalt blue used for this purpose - is this the insoluble coloring material, chemically cobalt aluminate? Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Knoxville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet