Bob is right and conventional home refrigerator freezers were not designed
to keep antibodies or tissues, for that matter as cold as consistently as we
need them.  If you can swing it, definitely go with one of the minus eighty
freezers or talk to someone who has one and rent or barter space.  Sears
just will not do it for you.  Pam Marcum

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Schoonhoven [mailto:rschoonh@sph.unc.edu]
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 7:34 AM
To: Molinari, Betsy
Cc: histonet
Subject: Re: refrigerator


Multiple freeze - thaw cycles are one of the best ways that I know of to
destroy the antigenicity of antibodies.  Self defrosting freezers are
one of the worst places to store your antibodies.  Every time an
antibody is thawed and refrozen a certain amount of antigenicity is
lost, with some, as much as 50%.  Any antibodies that we use
infrequently are store in a -80oC freezer and they keep well for
years.

"Molinari, Betsy" wrote:
>
> Hi Mr. Hawkins,
>  Maybe some other histofolks can confirm this or dismiss this theory. We
> store antibodies in the freezer and are worried that any unit with a
> self defrost cycle will alter the temperature inside the freezer
> damaging the antibodies. We did look into buying a fridge from places
> like Sears, Conns, etc. but could not find any (as Gayle pointed out)
> with manual defrost. We have contacted VWR and will call Jewett,Fisher
> and Allegiance.Any comments on this auto/manual defrost theory? Fact or
> fiction?
> Betsy Molinari
> Texas Heart Institute
> 713-794-6524
>
> > ----------
> > From:         Hawkins, Hal K.[SMTP:hhawkins@utmb.edu]
> > Sent:         Wednesday, April 12, 2000 2:17 PM
> > To:   'BMolinari@heart.thi.tmc.edu'
> > Subject:      refrigerator
> >
> >
> > I recently replaced a troublesome lab refrigerator with an
> > inexpensive top-freezer Kenmore unit on sale at Sears, seen
> > at Sharpstown (where they're the only store open) and ordered
> > from Texas City.  It came with a 5-year warranty, and seems
> > to be just what we needed.
> >
> > Hal Hawkins, UTMB Galveston
> >

--
best regards,
Bob
Robert Schoonhoven
Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis and Mutagenesis
Dept. of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
University of North Carolina
CB#7400
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone
office 919-966-6343
   Lab 919-966-6140
   Fax 919-966-6123

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you
nothing; it was here first.
Mark Twain [Samuel Langhornne Clemens] (1835-1910)