[Histonet] Re: Bouins alternative/substitute question

[Johnson, Teri]

Jason,

You indicate you are ridding the lab of Bouins fixative, and I can only
presume it is because of the volitile nature of picric acid.

I have not heard of any incidents involving the mixture of saturated
picric acid, formaldehyde, and acetic acid. Unless your safety
department has disposal issues, I would think it safe to use and store
provided you bought it ready-to-use. This is one fixative I have no
desire to make from scratch because I do not want the responsibility of
storing and monitoring picric acid.

We don't use much of it here; only on occasion when a journal article
refers to its use, or when another lab has found it is the only agent
that allows for detection of certain antigens.

Teri Johnson, HT(ASCP)QIHC
Managing Director Histology Facility
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
1000 E. 50th St.
Kansas City, MO 64133