A NEW ELECTRON-DENSE STAIN FOR ELASTIC TISSUE

Abstract

Tetraphenylporphine sulfonate has been shown to have a specific affinity for elastic tissues of the body in fluorescence microscopy. However, tetraphenylporphine sulfonate does not impart electron density to this tissue and thus is not suitable for electron microscopic studies. Therefore, tetraphenylporphine sulfonate was complexed with various heavy metals in order to use it as a specific stain for elastic tissues in electron microscopy. The silver and gold metallic complexes gave the most consistent and specific staining reactions. These compounds were prepared in this laboratory. The synthesis and staining procedures are described in detail.