[Histonet] am I snap-freezing correctly?
From: | "Jacobs,Jennifer \(stu\)" |
Hi,
I am snap freezing brain tissue for sectioning (8uM) on cryostat (-25C).
When I snap freeze, I put the brain hemisphere on a piece of aluminum foil (boat) and let it float on the LN2. Most times, some LN2 comes in direct contact with the brain tissue as the boat is not leak-free. Is this bad? Should I make sure the LN2 never comes in contact with the brain?
The problem I've been noticing is that, right off the cryostat, my tissue looks "hole-y". This just gets worse as I proceed with the IHC stain (CD-31 Ab to see vessels) and dehydration + xylene steps. By the xylene steps the holes are so stretched out that I can't even recognize vessels in the tissue.
I am not sure whether the holes arise from the brain extraction procedure (ie: snap freezing) or from the sectioning. But the person who sections has been doing it for years and has great experience with the cryostat.
Any ideas/suggestions would be great! Thanks a lot!
Jenn
UConn Health Center
Dept Pharmacology
Farmington, CT
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