Microwave Methods for Demonstrating Melanin

Abstract

Microwave modifications of Churukian's ammoniacal silver, Lillie's melanin bleach, Lillie's ferrous ion uptake, Lillie's Nile blue A, Schmorl's for reducing substances, and the Giemsa stain are described and recommended for use in demonstrating melanin. The use of the microwave oven reduces the time required to perform these methods without compromising the quality of the staining results. In fact, the results obtained with these methods are usually better than those obtained with the conventional nonmicrowave techniques. Even though these methods are not as specific or sensitive as the monoclonal antibodies HMB-45 and melanin A and the polyclonal antibody S-100, they are still useful for demonstrating melanin in malignant melanomas. (The J Histotechnol 26:239, 2003)