Hi Michelle...

Are you using any additive in your waterbath?  This is one of the main offenders...  Distilled water only when it comes to coated slides.  Another possibility is that the coated slides are trapping water under them.  We drain ours vertically for 30 minutes before putting them in at 37 overnight.  

Best of luck
Aidan


__

aidan schurr  b.m.l.sc
section head, histology
hutt valley district health board
lower hutt
new zealand

aidan.schurr@hvh.co.nz
++64 4 570 9173 (direct)
++64 4 570 9214 (fax)

>>> "Michelle Mcanulty-Smith - NeuronZ Ltd."  9/09/2002 >>>
Hi Folks,

I have been asked to post a question to  histo land and hope that someone
may be able to help...

We have whole adult rat brain (60 day rats approx 300gm weight of the brain)
the brains are perfused with Saline and fixed in 4% Formalin. The brain is
left to fix in for 48 hours minimum and then processed (cycle 16 hours using
chloroform)

The brains look and feel great after processing and cut beautifully... all
is perfect until.... the sections float off when staining! It has been
suggested to me that this is a processing problem.

We have tried various and almost all slide adhesives from pre-coated to
gelatine coated. We have even tried different kind of gelatine as I am told
pig is the best.

I have suggested drying for longer in our 58 degree oven even overnight, but
to no avail which is why 'they' now think that it is a processing problem.

The morphology of the bits that do stay on the slide is great,  we are
staining with Thionin and Acid Fuchsin and other people are not experiencing
the problem.

All thoughts and suggestions most welcome.
Michelle

Michelle McAnulty-Smith
Histology Co-ordinator

NeuronZ Ltd
Auckland
New Zealand
Tel: 09 367 7167 ext. 7060
Fax: 09 367 7186

E-mail:  michelle.mcanulty-smith@neuronz.com 


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