RE: freezing tissue - method?

From:"Charles W. Scouten, Ph.D."

The faster you freeze tissue, the smaller the ice crystals, the less
damage to cells.

Liquid Nitrogen can be too much of a good thing, the entire block of
tissue can crack from the extremely cold freezing.  

Liquid hexane is good, but must be contained against evaporation. 

Check out the following link:

http://www.myneurolab.com/mnl/mnlsite/ViewProduct.asp?idproduct=476401&c
atdesc=Histology+Equipment&subcatdesc=Freezing+Devices&idsubcategory=187


Include this in your grant, and you will never be sorry.

Cordially,

Charles W.  Scouten, Ph.D.
myNeuroLab.com
5918 Evergreen Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63134
Ph: 314 522 0300  
FAX  314 522 0377
cwscouten@myneurolab.com
www.myneurolab.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Tamara Howard [mailto:thoward@unm.edu] 
Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 3:36 PM
To: HistoNet; Microscopy Server
Subject: LM: freezing tissue - method?

I'm sort of conducting a survey - how do you freeze blocks prior to
cryostat sectioning? A PI in our department is writing a grant and
offered
to include a freezing set-up (we just use a dewar of LN2 now) - the only
equipment I've come across on the web is the giant NesLab bath. Is a
styrofoam cooler of LN2 with a beaker of some solvent still a reasonable
way to go, or is there some spiffy gizmo we can buy?

Thanks! (Sorry about the cross-post for those of you on both lists)

Tamara

|--------------------------------------------------|
 Tamara Howard
 Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
 University of New Mexico - Health Sciences Center
 Albuquerque, NM 87131
 thoward@unm.edu
|--------------------------------------------------|





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