Tasha Campbell, B.S.,HTL(ASCP), at Frederick Gastroenterology Associates in Frederick, Maryland asks:
>>Is nuclear fast red the only counter stain for the Prussian blue stain? I have a Masson's trichrome kit and was wondering if [Biebrich] scarlet could be [used as] a counterstain. I won't be doing the iron stain very often at all so I am trying to keep dry reagents on hand to make up as needed so they do not expire so quickly.<< This old pathologist never found Biebrich scarlet or the various fuchsins to be satisfactory substitutes for nuclear fast red - they're too dense, and they don't stain nuclei specifically. Nuclear fast red (Kernechtrot, C.I. 60760) is a dye with problems - poor shelf life both dry and in solution, and it will probably go out of manufacture eventually. It's used as an aluminum lake for staining nuclei. I'm not sure what would serve as an alternative. I'd like to know more about brazilin (particularly about Anatech's Brazilliant), a catechol dye similar to hematoxylin, with good specificity for nuclei. Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Maryville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet