[Histonet] Turtle embryo skulls sections slippage

[Gayle Callis]

Frank,

After picking up paraffin sections onto any kind of positive charged 
surface, you should let the slides drain vertically immediately after 
pickup .  The water must drain away, from under the sections.  Your 
sections should flatten on a waterbath adequately if you use a proper 
waterbath temperature for your given paraffin (this can vary a few degrees 
for any given paraffin).  Don't even use a slide warmer, vertical slide 
holders are available - polyethylene boards with slanted slots, hold up to 
70 or more slides.

If you observe what happens, water tends to pool underneath a 
section.   Good drainage will prevent this.

  After draining water away, go to a slide dryer.  If the water still looks 
pooled at section edge (after draining for a time) you can release it with 
a sharp point or razor blade, wick it away.

When using a warm waterbath, hopefully you never put additional adhesive in 
the waterbath.  Adhesives in water coat the plus charge and negate its 
effects to make a section stick to the slide.  Use pure distilled water, no 
adhesives.

Good luck

At 01:48 PM 4/3/2005, you wrote:
>Hello,
>I have been serially sectioning turtle embryo skulls embedded
>in Paraplast.  The ribbons are being mounted on
>UltraStick/Ultrafrost Adhesion slides in a hot water-bath,
>and the slides placed on a slide warmer.  Most sections
>remain intact in the position they were cut, but it seems
>that random sections shift in position while sitting on the
>slide warmer.  I am not sure why this is occurring.  Could it
>be the result of water between the tissue and the slide?  Any
>advice on how to avoid this would be appreciated.
>Thanks,
>Frank
>
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Gayle Callis
MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
Research Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology
Montana State University - Bozeman
PO Box 173610
Bozeman MT 59717-3610
406 994-6367 (lab with voice mail)
406 994-4303 (FAX)