[Histonet] microtomy technical question: Protocol used forprocessing

[Monfils, Paul]

The times given would be right for some types of samples, excessive for other types, and insufficient for still other types of samples. The principle factor is sample size, though tissue type also plays a role.  If you are running small biopsies, only a few mm in size, 1/3 the listed time in each station should be adequate. For average tissue samples up to a cm or so in smallest dimension, the listed times are probably about right. For larger samples, especially those that are fatty or unusually dense, longer processing times would be recommended, though that doesn't seem to be your problem. There is no single processing schedule that is right for all tissue samples. Unfortunately, most clinical labs don't have much choice in this matter. Everything has to be run overnight and embedded in the morning. Where I work, in a core research facility, we can customize processing for the specific specimens we are working with.  I have processing schedules programmed into the processor with total run times anywhere from 3 hours to 64 hours. And occasionally I run shorter or longer programs than these.