[Histonet] Re: Re-embedding JB4 plastic

[Carl Hobbs]

Yes , it's relatively easy, tho'' fiddly, if you have small specimens:
I do it whenever I have specimens ( like fruitflies, zebrafish tiddlers) 
that I need to cut T/S - they NEVER stand up on their own! I embed them flat 
, about a mm from  the shortest side of the mold.
After polymerisation, use a junior hacksaw to cut away excess resin in such 
a way as to make a flat face of the side you want to embed on, ensuring that 
it will fit into your mold.( for fine further fine trimming I'll use a 
safety blade )
 Clean away, in abs alc, resin debri, dry and then place in final stage GMA 
infiltrating resin for a while, on a rocker. I give fruitflies a couple of 
hours, for the heck of it.
Then make up your embedding resin, place the trimmed block in the mold, add 
the resin....... Never failed me yet
NB: if you are placing a chuck on top of your resin mold, to fix the 
polymerised block onto it, ready for cutting, I wouldn't bother polymerising 
under vacuum.
Good luck.
If you wish, you can have a look at a couple of sections of wholemount NISH 
specimens that have been subsequently processed to GMA resin, in the way 
outlined above:  http://www.immunoportal.com/ in the In situ pic gallery.
I hope this is apt/helpful.
Carl