[Histonet] RE: Cutting frozen sections from visceral fat

[idimitro <@t> mun.ca]

Hi Sarah, 

Thank you for the response. We are a research lab so whatever the researchers want to be done we do it with all kinds of tissues. In this case they are looking at the size of the fat cells in the animals. 
I will try to lower the temperature to -30 as was also suggested to me and if this does not work I will look into fixation. In Bancroft's fifth edition is mentioned that if you need fixation you need to use formol-calcium. I hope this will harden the fat and stabilize the membrane proteins enough so I can cut it. I will let you know how it worked.

Thanks again,
iliana

-----Original Message-----
From: Sarah Dysart [mailto:sdysart <@t> mirnarx.com] 
Sent: October 6, 2011 12:14 PM
To: Dimitrova, Iliana
Subject: RE: Cutting frozen sections from visceral fat

Cutting frozen fat is basically impossible.  It will just goo up and rip out of the chuck of frozen OCT.  I think there is a way where you can do a fixation process first in something, but I'm not sure of that.  Why do they need frozen fat sections?  Cutting fat after fixation is totally doable with the right fixation.  I have done this when people have asked for frozen fat sections.  I can usually talk them out of the frozen and just do the FFPE sections.  Let me know I can give you more details.

http://www.pathologyinnovations.com/new_page_2.htm

This site has a section in it called wrestling the fat one, that has some ideas for you.

Good Luck!!

Sarah Goebel-Dysart, BA, HT(ASCP)
Histotechnologist
Mirna Therapeutics
2150 Woodward Street
Suite 100
Austin, Texas  78744
(512)901-0900 ext. 6912


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of idimitro <@t> mun.ca
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 6:59 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Cutting frozen sections from visceral fat

Hi everyone,

I am having trouble cutting frozen sections from visceral fat. I have never cut only fat before. I am also cutting liver sections and they are perfect, but when I try to cut the fat it is not working.
The temperature of the cryostat is ( -20) degree Celsius.
I wonder if anyone has ever done this. I was thinking that if I lower the temperature or fix the fat with formol-calcium I may have success.

Iliana Dimitrova, MSc, RT
Histology Supervisor
Room 2808
Medical Education and Laboratory Support Services (MELSS)
Faculty of Medicine
Memorial University
St. John's, NL


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