A SILVER STAIN FOR DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID

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Abstract
By hydrolyzing tissue sections with 1 M citric acid for 30 minutes at 60°C and subsequently treating the sections with methenamine silver for 60 minutes at 60°C (5% silver nitrate in 3% aqueous methenamine), a stain has been developed which is extremely intense and specific for nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid. This has been tested in a number of ways including deoxyribonuclease, trichloroacetic and perchloric acid extraction. The reaction has been successful with fresh frozen cryostat sections as well as with paraffin-embedded material. The stain is likewise satisfactory with tissue fixed in neutral formalin, Carnoy's solution, or formalin-phosphate-sucrose mixture. Because the silver precipitate is precisely localized it may be useful in visualizing chromatin with the electron microscope.

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