Hello,

Does anybody know of a fluorescent dye for demonstrating features of a
cotton fibre?  I am looking at running a prac subject for biologists whereby
I get them to stain textile fibres (since these are readily available) with
fluorescent dye and look to see which structures take up the dye.  Can
anyone tell me what is a good stain to use for cotton?  Are there any
pitfalls I should perhaps know about in advance?  I made up a fluorescein
dye both in water and in ethanol but had minimal luck with these.  The
literature is quite sparse but I believe the wall of the cotton fibre to be
made of cellulose.

I no longer subscribe to this discussion group so would ask that replies be
sent directly to my email address.  If I am overwhelmed by responses, I will
summarise these and post them to the list later.

Many thanks for any information you can supply.

Felicity Lawrence

Analytical Electron Microscopy Facility
Queensland University of Technology
GPO Box 2434, Brisbane 4000
Australia

Ph : 3864 2557
Fax: 3864 5100