1 Department of Pediatrics of the School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and the Division of Medical Genetics of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Quinacrine fluoromicroscopy reveals a characteristic fluorescent pattern for each of the 23 pairs of the human mitotic chromosomes. The procedure is of particular value in the pairing of the C chromosomes, and in the differentiation of the morphologically similar chromosome pairs 4 and 5; 13, 14 and 15; and so forth.
A study of trisomic Down's cases helped to identify chromosome 21 as the "bright-G" chromosome.
Quinacrine hydrochloride (Atabrine) seems to give a less intense fluorescence, but a clearer pattern for visual observation, than quinacrine mustard.
Submitted on November 6, 1970