[Histonet] Immuno slide problem

[Anissa Choi]

Thanks to all who replied to my question. Please see if the following will 
help to gain new insight
into my problem.

1. The red box is on the bottom of our slides. I do not think it would 
interfere with the vortex
    action of the stainer.  If  the vortex mixing is not working or weak, I 
would expect the section
    on the bottom end of the slide not stained as reagent is dispensed onto 
the red box area on
    Ventana stainer. Unlike the Ventana Benchmark with slides lying directly 
flat on the tray. our
    slides are clipped on both ends with spaces between slides and the tray.

2.The problem is not repeating. We recut using slides from the same batch 
and everthing was fine.
   The other day, out of a run of 20 slides, 2 slides did not work( both 
control and test did not
   work).We checked dispenser, AEC kit etc and could not find anything 
wrong. We repeated
   without altering anything, same control, same AEC kit, same protease , 
same antibody dispenser
   and slides from same batch. The repeated run was fine.

3. Ventana suggested the red paint may get onto some slides and causes 
patchy and uneven
    staining. I was told that  the particles from the red stuff affect the 
staining reaction on the
    Ventana stainer.

4. As I have mentioned in my last e-mail, I put the origional problem 
slides( the skin section in the
   middle did not get stained while the control and the other section  
worked just fine) back on
   the stainer and ran it again after the stainer was thoroughtly checked 
and serviced by Ventana.
   I still could not get the section in the middle stained.

5. Is it reasonable to conclude that we have a slide problem ( occasional  
defective slides in the
    batch), rather than a machine problem ?  Would you switch to other type 
of charged slides?


Anissa Choi

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