Black-Gold: a simple, high-resolution histochemical label for normal and pathological myelin in brain tissue sections

A novel haloaurophosphate complex called Black-Gold has been synthesized and applied to localize myelin within the central nervous system. The technique is tailored to studies using formalin fixed non-solvent processed tissue. The technique stains large myelinated tracts dark red-brown, while the individual myelinated axons appear black. This study demonstrates how this novel tracer can be used to localize both normal and pathological myelin. Specific myelin changes associated with exposure to diverse neurotoxicants including kainic acid, domoic acid, 3-nitropropionic acid, Fluoro-Gold and isoniazid are demonstrated and characterized. This study also demonstrates how Black-Gold can be combined with other histochemical markers including Nissl stains, retrogradely transported fluorescent tracers and fluorescent markers of neuronal degeneration. Advantages associated with the Black-Gold technique include high resolution, high contrast, short histochemical processing time, and consistent reproducibility.