Try Calcofluor White M2R. It excites in the uv and emits blue light and
should stain cotton well.  It is used in detergent as a whitener.


Deb Berglund
Montana State University

On Tue, 18 Feb 1997, Felicity Lawrence wrote:

> 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