[Histonet] pfa vs. nbf

[jdr43 <@t> omega.med.yale.edu]

Hi all-

I'm a medical student doing immunohistochemistry studies on vascular grafts in
mice. We are currently pressure fixing these mouse vessels in 4%
paraformaldehyde, fixing them in 10% neutral buffered formalin overnight, and
then paraffin embedding these samples (we cannot do frozen b/c the grafts tend
to shred when we cut them).

I was wondering if it is better to transfer them to 10% NBF for overnight
fixation or if we can just keep them in 4% PFA overnight. Does it make a
difference? Also, the plan is to use immunofluorescence. Is PFA or NBF better
for this, or again is there no difference?

As always, any advice or help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Jason

New Haven, CT 06510