[Histonet] (no subject)

[awall <@t> unmc.edu]

Hello People,
    This is my first posting.  I am currently in the process of staining
bone and cartilage of newly born mice.  I am using Alizarin Red S for the
bones and Alcian Blue for the cartilage.  I eviscerate as much of the skin
and muscle tissue as I can.  The problem is I am not getting the cartilage
and the bone to stain correctly.  I received these samples from another lab
and found out they had been fixed and stored @ 4 degrees in the same
paraformaldehyde for more than a year.  The bone stains bluish green and
the cartilage does not stain at all.  Any suggestion would be a big help
and I have plenty of specimens to work with so I will take what I can get.
Thank you for your time,
Drew
University of Nebraska Medical Center