[Histonet] Frozen tissue question

[Nicole Tatum]

I run a Mohs lab that processes skin by frozen section. There is no need
to use any fixative before hand. But, if you are looking for melanoma or
melanocytes, freezing can cause artifact and make it difficult to read
slides. Limit the amount of nitrogen you use to freeze the specimen. Some
places use alcohol as a fixative after the slide is cut. It will for all
purposes remove the water continent from the tissue which will preserve
tissue. Hope this helps.

Nicole Tatum HT ASCP





 We have a new doctor in our lab who swears that all frozen tissue must
> be fixed in formalin with a subsequent sucrose treatment before freezing
> in OCT because not fixing it will cause the structures to be distorted
> and you can't get good antibody attachment. In my previous experience,
> we have done this with tissue that came from an animal that was perfused
> with formalin before the tissue was removed. However, the majority of my
> previous frozen specimens were flash frozen in OCT and fixed after
> sectioning. It is also my understanding that fixation in formalin can
> cause poor antibody detection because of cross-linking caused by the
> formalin. I would like to hear some other opinions on this please. The
> particular specimen we will be working with is skin.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Joel Reichensperger
>
> --
> Joel Reichensperger
> Researcher II
> Southern Illinois University
> Plastic Surgery Institute
> jreichensperger <@t> siumed.edu
> 217-545-7309 (Office)
> 217-545-1824 (Fax)
>
>
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