RE: To clarify my problem...

From:Cynthia Favara <cfavara@niaid.nih.gov>

Jack,
   Welcome to the world of histology. Time in xylene can probably be cut
down to 3-5 minutes as long as you are rotating xylenes adequately. Time in
ETOH 1 minute each. I recommend you spend some time calibrating your
microwave so that if you put the same volume of retrieval solution in the
same container with the same number of slides every time the setting can be
preprogramed and you should be able to walk away. Just think of yourself as
running a marathon or doing a well orchestrated but lengthily dance routine.
I prefer the dance motif myself. Good Luck
Cynthia Favara
Rocky Mountain Laboratories
903 S. 4th Street
Hamilton, MT 59840
406-363-9317
FAX 406-363-9286


-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Golden [mailto:countofmontehisto@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 3:25 PM
To: 'Histonet' (E-mail)
Subject: To clarify my problem...


I have gotten a couple e-mails from some kind fellow
histotechs trying to help me out, but I'm sorry for
being so vague with my problem.  

I am running my tissues through xylene to
deparaffinize (three dips at ten minutes each) and
alcohol to rehydrate (three dips at 4 minutes each),
and it takes a long time (that's almost 45 minutes,
and I can't get other lab work done because I am
always walking back and forth to change these slides).
 Then I have to deal with this microwave, where I am
having to monitor it to prevent boiling up and I am
getting so-so results with the staining.  My main
concern is with all the time it's taking to do this
pretreatment.  I have talked to some other labs who
have used various methods (different heat sources) and
they seem to be getting it done faster.  So my main
problem isn't just thte results, but the time it is
taking me to do this pretreatment.  We have a small
staff here and need to get the best time efficiency
out of our staining.  Since the incubation and link
and label protocols are all pretty similar, I was just
asking for some suggestions as to time-saving tips
during pretreatment.  Any suggestions would be most
appreciated!  Thanks.

Jack

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