Jamie,

Yes it is a pain. The pathologist's should be letting you know what pH's
they will require. Some like 4.2, 4.6, and 9.4.  Some may not require all
three to diagnose from and some may have their own ideas. There are many
procedures and many reference books.  Unfortunately, I can't help you here
but maybe someone else can.

One key to  ATPase working is the ammonium sulfide. The newer the better.
Store away from light.  We kept ours wrapped in something opaque in a box.
You should develop a shelf-life in accordance to environmental conditions
in the lab and by how often the bottle is opened.

Adjusting the pH can be tricky. The incubation solutions are sensitve to pH
adjustment.   If you overshoot the preincubation solutions with either the
0.25N NaOH or 0.1M HCL solutions the reaction may not work.

Have alot of patience.  Once you have the technique down you should not
have a problem.

Rande Kline HT (ASCP)




Jamie Erickson <JErickson@genetics.com> on 07/13/99 04:43:55 PM

To:   HistoNet@pathology.swmed.edu
cc:
Subject:  ATPase stains




Could someone give me information on how to preform an ATPase stain. Is it
a pain in the &%$#@ to do.......?

Jamie Erickson
Genetics Institute
Andover,MA