Abstract
In recent years, lanthanum(La)compounds have been increasingly used in the optical and electronic industries. Such industrial sources of La pose potential environmental problems, and it is therefore necessary to investigate the effects of La on humans and animals. A simple technique involving staining of La at the light microscopic level with alizarin complexone has been developed. This method is based on the formation of insoluble alizarin complexone-La-F in response to NaF treatment. The reactive material is reddish-purple in color and shows on absorption maximum at 530 nm. Application of this method to paraffin-embedded liver sections from rats treated with LaCl3 allowed for the selective staining of La at the light microscopic level. Thus, this method can be used for pathologic diagnosis in paraffin-embedded sections.
