Hi everyone,

this topic may have been raised before in which case I'm

sorry, but does anyone know of any fluorescent dyes that are specific for

starch? Preferably those that fluoresce using an argon ion laser.

Thanks in advance,

Charles Cranfield

Swinburne University of Technology

Melbourne, Australia.

304605@BUD.CC.SWIN.EDU.AU

The standard PAS staining reaction with pararosanilin as the stain gives

both a visible stain and one excited by 514 nm. I don't have spectral

info but it seems to be a broad excitation and emission. With a mercury

arc lamp and 546 nm excitation it gives nice emission so I assume it will

also work with 568 nm line of Kr-Ar laser.

I don't have my notes with me but we used either the 488 nm or 546 nm

excitation (with broadband emission filters) with the arc lamp and could

easily distinguish the pararosanilin and CY3 visually (distinct yellow

vs. red emission).

This method is also very specific.

Dale A. Callaham

Central Microscopy Facility

University of Massachusetts

Amherst, MA 01003 USA

email: dac@bio.umass.edu