The two solutions can be kept as stock solution and mixed immediately before use. 3 ml Make up the alcohol solution then add the concentrated acid. The working solution is stable for 1 month. The stock solution A is stable for 6 months. Take care when handling basic fuchsin as a powder, it is a potential carcinogen.
Acetic acid is a strong irritant and a corrosive.
Use a fume hood and wear protective clothing. The vapour is heavier than air and can travel for a considerable distance along the ground to a source of ignition and flash back. Ethanol is regarded as one of the safest industrial solvents. Although it possesses narcotic properties, vapour concentrations sufficient to produce narcosis are rarely, if ever reached in a medical laboratory. Ethanol is rapidly oxidised, in the body, to carbon dioxide and water and does not produce permanent damage to the central nervous system.