[Histonet] Retic stain, H2O2 IHC damage,old stains

[peptolab]

Dick Dapson at Anatech wants all old historical dyes, right?

Hydrogen peroxide quenching will digest/dissolve fresh frozen tissue
sections just like it does the pus/crust in a wound. I air dry frozen
sections for up to an hour u and fix in cold acetone.  Your proteinaceous
"gentle" H2O2 definately helped.

RE:  Retic stain  Gomori's is really easy to overtone- five minutes in Gold
chloride and it seems to me you'd have no fibers stained at all. I use three
minutes for the stinky silver. Developing takes no more than 30 seconds with
the 20% formalin. Then tone by just dipping the slides in gold chloride for
about five seconds or less. It's easy to overdo it.
I used to do a shortened, untoned version omitting the gold chloride and you
get a lovely gradation of blacks to grays to browns and golden browns in
collagen with varying shades according to density of fibrillar
collagenization. Reticulin fibres were still black. Nuclei stained too so
kernechtrot becomes superfluous. I should write this stain up.

Jeff Silverman Path Asst
Southside Hospital
Bay Shore NY USA