Fullmer & Lillie's Orcinol-New Fuchsin
for Elastic Fibres
Materials
- Weigert’s iron hematoxylin or equivalent
- Van Gieson’s picro-fuchsin
- Orcinol-New Fuchsin solution
Material Amount New fuchsin 2 g Orcinol 4 g Ferric chloride, 30% aqu. 50 mL Distilled water 200 mL Ethanol 95% 100 mL Preparation
- Add the dye and orcinol to the water in an oversize flask.
- Boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the ferric chloride.
- Boil for a further 5 minutes.
- Cool and filter.
- Dry the filter paper and beaker. Place the precipitate and filter paper back into the flask.
- Add the ethanol and heat carefully until the precipitate dissolves.
- Restore to 100 mL with 95% ethanol.
Tissue Sample
5µ paraffin sections of neutral buffered formalin fixed tissue are suitable. Other fixatives are likely to be satisfactory.
Protocol
- Bring sections to water via xylene and ethanol.
- Place into orcinol-new fuchsin solution for 15 minutes at 37°C.
- Wash with 3 changes of 70% ethanol for 5 minutes each.
- Counterstain with iron hematoxylin and van Gieson.
- Dehydrate with ethanol, clear with xylene and mount with a resinous medium.
Expected Results
- Elastic fibres – deep violet
- Collagen – red
- Cytoplasm – yellow
- Nuclei – black
Notes
- Fullmer and Lillie specified 25mL USP IX Liquor Ferri Chloridi, or a solution of 15.5g ferric chloride (FeCl3.6H2O) made up to 25 mL with water, i.e. 25mL of a 62% solution. In either case, it should be fresh.
Safety Note
Prior to handling any chemical, consult the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for proper handling and safety precautions.
References
- Fullmer, H M and Lillie, R D, (1956).
A selective stain for elastic tissue (orcinol-new fuchsin).,
Stain Technologyl, v 31, page 27-29. - Lillie, R D and Fullmer, H M, (1976).
Histopathological technic and practical histochemistry, Ed. 4. pp. 714.
McGraw-Hill, New York, USA.