[Histonet] Staining GAGs in fetal membranes

[Jennifer Scholler]

Hello,

I am attempting to stain fetal membranes to look at the GAG content. My
advisor suggested Safronin O, which I tried on a preliminary set of slides
(hematoxylin, fast green, then safronin O). I did get some staining and saw
a band of red staining between the layers, as expected, but the staining is
not nearly as pronounced as in images of Safronin O stained tissues that I
have seen (some of this obviously may be due to imaging settings). Also,
after doing some reading, it seems that Alcian blue may be another option.
Can anyone with experience staining FMs or similar tissues suggest a stain
and protocol for this?

Thanks!

Regards,

Jennifer Scholler
M.S. candidate
Mechanical Engineering
University of Colorado at Boulder