[Histonet] Colloidal Iron Staining

[amanda porath]

I have been working on "validating" our colloidal iron stain for quite
some time and am not getting the results our Docs want to see. I am
using small intestine as the control and the goblet cells light up
beautifully, however the subject tissue does not. It is my
understanding that this stain is most useful to distinguish a
chromophobe from an oncocytoma kidney tumor. I have seen the beautiful
text book pictures...in the text books, and that is what our
pathologists want to see on the slides....

Is anyone out there doing colloidal iron, and if so, would you share
your protocols, and explain how your staining looks.

I am using the Muller-Mowry technique with in house made reagents. We
are considering trying a purchased kit, but wanted to pose this
question to fellow histotechs first. Perhaps I am overlooking
something simple.

Any feedback is most welcome.

Many Thanks,

Amanda Porath, HT(ASCP)
Bassett Medical Center
Cooperstown, NY 13326