[Histonet] Histobath coolants - hydrofluoroethers

[Vinnie Della Speranza]

Bob,
thanks for sharing this information. You may be the pioneer though in the application of HFE 7100 for freezing tissues. you may have a journal article once you've had some experience with the product.

you'll want to explore whether HFE 7100 will react in any undesirable fashion with OCT or other embedding media used for frozen sections or with fresh tissues for that matter.

any significant safety cautions in the MSDS we should know about?





Vinnie Della Speranza
Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services
Medical University of South Carolina
165 Ashley Avenue  Suite 309
Charleston, SC 29425
Ph: 843-792-6353
fax: 843-792-8974

>>> <RSRICHMOND <@t> aol.com> 02/13/06 06:30PM >>>
I asked Histonetters earlier whether they knew of any non-flammable coolant 
was available for the Thermo Electron Histobath.

According to my Thermo Electron Corporation representative, a non-flammable 
coolant for their Histobath frozen section freezing device is made by 3M. It's
3M* Novec* Engineered Fluid HFE-7100
This product belongs to a class of fluorocarbons called
"segregated hydrofluoroethers (HFE's)"
According to various MSDS, this HFE-7100 is
methyl nonafluoroisobutyl ether
C4F9-O-CH3
It melts and freezes at -135 C, so that it will remain liquid in the 
Histobath. (It would freeze solid in liquid nitrogen, however.)
It boils at 60 C., and is listed as non-flammable.
It costs around $230 a gallon.

Apparently these hydrofluorethers were introduced in 1996 to replace 
ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons, and have since found numerous uses in the 
laboratory and in industry.

What I can't find in Google is any reference to their use for freezing tissue 
for frozen sections. Is anyone on Histonet familiar with HFE-7100 ?

Bob Richmond
Gastonia NC
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