NOVEL FIXATION OF PLANT-TISSUE, STAINING THROUGH PARAFFIN WITH ALCIANBLUE AND HEMATOXYLIN, AND IMPROVED SLIDE PREPARATION

Onion (Allium cepa) root tips were fixed in a proprietary solution wit hout aldehyde, toxic metals or acetic acid, Fixed specimens were embed ded in paraffin, sectioned on a rotary microtome and mounted on deterg ent-washed slides without adhesive, Slides with ribbon segments affixe d were immersed in 0.2% aqueous alcian blue 8GX in screw-capped Coplin jars in a water bath at 50 C for 1 hr, Excess alcian blue was rinsed off under cold running tap water and the slides were immersed in quick -mixed hematoxylin at room temperature for 15 min. Stained Slides were deparaffinized, rinsed with isopropanol, air dried, and coverslips we re affixed with resin, Thus, the traditional paraffin microtechnique h as been modified at all steps from fixation to finishing slides with c overslips.