Picric acid is usually purchased under water as it is explosive
when dry.  A procedure I have used in the past is to get
picric acid in water, put some into a flask and give it a few 
washes with alcohol, allowing it to settle each time and then
 decanting the excess.  Finally add some more alcohol with enough of 
the picric acid to produce a saturated alcoholoic solution.
With picric acid having a solubility of 8g/100ml you now 
have an 8% stock solution which can be diluted to your 
working concentration. A precaution I take with the storage
of the stock is to use a plastic stopper as the friction of glass
on glass could ignite any dried picric acid at the mouth of
the storage bottle.
 
I am not aware of the price of alcoholoic picric acid 
but this may prove cheaper even though some of the picric
acid will be lost during the wash process.
 
regards
 
 
Tony Reilly
Chief Scientist
Anatomical Pathology
Northside Pathology
Prince Charles Hospital
Rode rd Chermside Q 4032
Australia
Ph: 07 3350 8543
Fax: 07 33508546
tony_reilly@health.qld.gov.au


>>> Craig Kallsen  05/06/05 02:16am >>>
Dear List,

I am new to this and would like to stain phloem, xylem and cambial cells 
in citrus tree-trunk tissue in paraplast embedded tissue.  I have a 
protocol for using crystal violet stain that requires ethnolic picric 
acid in the procedure.  Is there a substitute for picric acid?  I am 
having trouble obtaining picric acid in  alcohol (as well as finding the 
price intimidating).

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