Hi, Have you tried leishman staining? I have an automated protocol for he thermo gemini if you want one? Failing that I do have the manual step protocol and all you need is a jar of leishman powder, methanol and pH6.8 phosphate buffet tablets
Stuart Beaver BSc(Hons) Head of Veterinary Histology/Cytology +447568543761 On 6 Sep 2018, at 21:37, Bob Richmond <rsrichm...@gmail.com<mailto:rsrichm...@gmail.com>> wrote: Joseph A. Esposito at McClain Laboratories on Long Island asks: The laboratory I work at has been using the Diff Quik for years now as a stain for fine needle aspirates. Recently, when we tried to reorder a Diff Quik stain kit from our usual suppliers, we have found it to be on backorder. This has caused us to begin to consider the Giemsa stain as an alternative to the Diff Quik. Does anyone have any experience with using both stains and how they compare to each other? Would the Giemsa be a suitable alternative to replace the Diff Quik?<< Diff-Quik® (spelt like that!) is an old registered trademark for a rapid two-step Romanowsky stain. A number of Web sites inform me today that this trade name has been discontinued, I suppose because the name has been so commonly used generically. There have long been a number of generic fast two-step Romanowsky stains available, with a xanthene dye (presumably eosin Y) as solution 1, and a proprietary mixture of thiazine dyes as solution 2. In my experience with at least five of these, they all worked pretty much indistinguishably from brand-name Diff-Quik. There are a number of stains called Giemsa, also Romanowsky stains, but often slower than the "quick" stains. There is probably no advantage to using them for any reason. In my eightieth year, I remember with nostalgia the old Wolbach Giemsa technique for tissue sections. Tissue must be fixed in a dichromate fixative, traditionally Zenker/Helly, sections stained in four successive Giemsa baths, the last one overnight, and differentiated with 10% colophonium rosin in alcohol with microscopic control. (I've actually done this stain myself.) Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Maryville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet