I have 9 and day 10 embryos which need to be paraffin processed.  They were fixed in 4% PFA in PBS overnight (probably overkill) on a rotator (probably too rough).  After an abbreviated processing schedule (roughly 15-20 minutes per station using 1x 70%, 5x Pro-soft, 3x Pro-Par, and 4x Type 6 paraffin) I opened the tissue cassettes to embed them and found them fragmented.

I need some tips on fixation, processing, and handling these delicate specimens.

Thanks in advance!

Teri Johnson
Manager Histology Core Facility
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
1000 E. 50th St.
Kansas City, Missouri  64110
tjj@stowers-institute.org