Abstract
Oxytalan fibers of the periodontal membrane in the mouse may be demonstrated, after periodate oxidation, by a number of aldehyde-fuchsin dye complexes. The reactive species in the stain is shown by visible spectrophotometry to be Schiff's base. The loss of staining activity after several weeks aging is due to the formation of the hexa-N-alkyl fuchsin, for which the mechanism is proposed. Experiments suggest that oxytalan fibers contain α-hydroxy amine residues which are oxidized by periodate to imines, which tautomerise to enamines. These enamines then behave as nucleophilic species in the staining process.