You could try picrosirius red. It enhances the birefringence of collagen
fibrils, and according to some authors you can use the various shades of red to
determine the thickness of the collagen bundles. You have to view it with
crossed polarisers, and the effect is highly dramatic.

Lesley Weston.



On Fri, 9 Jul 1999, Carolyn Pressman wrote:

> Hello,
> I study corneal development in the mouse.  We have mutant mice that I 
> suspect have problems bundling collagen fibrils and making sure they are 
> the correct diameter.  I am in the process of having TEM done using 
> phosphotungstic acid to visualize the fibers.  
> 
> I was wondering if there were any stains specific for collagens in 
> general, or for specific collagens using routine histology or frozen 
> sections.  The histology book we have in lab is from 1975 and says
> there are no specific staining reactions for collagen, but that it binds 
> the fuchsin f van Geison's stain and the analine blue of Mallory's 
> stain.  I have used Mallory's and I see blue staining in the cornea, but 
> less than in normal animals.  
> What about silver staining?
> Does anyone have any suggestions, or is TEM the best way to go?
> Thanks,
> Carolyn Pressman
> MD Anderson Cancer Center
> HOuston, TExas
> \
> 
>