[Histonet] Melan-A Staining

[Rene J Buesa]

  Hi Royer:
  I used Melan A Clone A103 (Ig Mouse) bought from DAKO at a cost (in 2002) of $319 per mL of concentrated antibody (their cat. no. M7196 then).
  I used it a a dilution of  1:50 after HIER at pH6 (with melanoma case as + control).
  This means that you could dilute it (not at once, but during all the shelf life as needed) to up to 50 mL of diluted Ab.
  By hand you can expect to use about 250 µL/slide which means that you could treat
  about 200 slides = $1.60 per slide in antibody costs.
  You will need all the other reagents for a "conventional" protocol.
  Some years ago I calculated that materials per slide for an IHC procedure amounted to about $5.80
  Labor, depending on the number os slides and practice, could be as low as $2.15
  All in all you could expect to spend about $ 8 to $9/slide.
  In order to reduce costs, they could batch slides and do the procedure twice weeknly.
  You just need a good protocol and somebody with manual dexterity (as any histotech should have, by the way).
  Hope this will help, a questoin though, what do you mean that you "consult for a small lab in your area"?
  René J.


  I consult for a small lab in my area and they are contemplating doing
Melan-A staining in their lab. They are wondering if this would be feasible
and what might the costs be. Could any of you out there in HistoLand be of
assistance?

They are estimating that they will do an average of one patient slide per
day.

How much do the reagents cost (cost per test)?
Which manufacturers carry it?
How many steps are involved in the procedure?
How much total time is involved to perform the procedure?
Does it take a high level of skill to perform? (They will be staining by
hand for the time being)
Etc.?

This lab does not do any special staining and the present time. This will
be a first for them, so any helpful hints will be greatly appreciated. As
you can see, I am totally ignorant in this department, so I am of no help at
all.

Cheers!

~ Ford

Ford M. Royer, MT(ASCP)
Sales Manager, Histology Product Division
Minnesota Medical Specialists, Inc.
7177 Madison Ave. W.
Golden Valley, MN 55427-3601
763-542-8725 phone
888-790-9686 toll free
763-546-4830 fax
email
web


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