Hi Peggy,
This looks like it will help.  Do you find a difference between ETOH and
Isoprop. alcohol?
Thanks,
Trisha



On Wed, 4 Nov 1998, Wenk, Lee & Peggy wrote:

> NTT@shcc.org wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I know I've posted this in the past, but does anyone have a good
>technique for
> > sectioning of frozens or paraffin embedded cartilage.
>
> (I know the following works for paraffin. Have never tried it with FS.)
>
> Have you ever tried floating the tissue out on 25% alcohol, then
> transferring it to the flotation bath?
>
> We take a blank slide (frosted end ones OK), lay it flat on
> the counter, and flood it from a squirt bottle with 25% alcohol.
>
> Then lay the tissue on the alcohol.
>
> Carefully drain off the excess alcohol onto a paper towel by
> lifting one corner of the slide and holding onto the tissue.
>
> Then slowing lower your slide into the water bath at a slight
> angle. The wrinkles/folds should be parallel to the edge of
> water coming up the slide. In other words, you can put the
> slide in bottom first or side first or diagonally. Just so
> that the wrinkles are parallel to the surface of the water,
> not perpendicular.
>
> The difference in surface tension should put a little more
> "pull" on the section, straightening out more of the
> wrinkles, folds. The sections might spin around due to this
> surface tension, so watch it if you have to maintain the
> same orientation slide after slide. The more alcohol you drain
> off, the less spinning, but also less pulling. So play around
> with the amount you need drained off.
>
> You can do this with one section, or a ribbon, as long as
> it fits on the slide.
>
> About the only difference I have ever seen between this and
> slides that I did NOT float on the alcohol is that those with
> the alcohol might stain a SLIGHTLY lighter shade with the
> eosin. Nothing noticable, unless you were doing serial sections,
> some with and some without alcohol, and then laid them
> next to each other in a folder and LOOKED for the difference.
> Microscopically, they look the same.
>
> I'd slide with the subbed slides.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> > CryoJane, but my boss is not will to spend the $6000. Or if anyone has
> > cartilage sections that they're willing to share, I'd love to hear from
>you.
> > It can be human or bovin (prefer human).   Or if you know of a vendor that
> > sells cartilage sections, please let me know.
> >
> > I can section my own, but I always get a wrinkle in the middle of the
>section.
> > Unfortunately, to publish our results, I need wrinkle free slides.  I
>am using
> > plus charge slides.
> >
> > .
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Noi
>
> --
> Peggy A. Wenk, HTL (ASCP)
> Anatomic Pathology
> Wm. Beaumont Hospital
> 3601 W. 13 Mile Rd.
> Royal Oak, MI 48073-6769
>
>