[Histonet] RE: rat muscle fixation

[Pixley, Sarah (pixleysk)]

Thank you Dr. Wright!
We have full IACUC approval for perfusion and for all our procedures, and we have done a lot of paraformaldehyde perfusion fixation. It is just that for this study, we would like to avoid it, since it might interfere with other aspects of the experiment. 
So, we were wondering if there were any methods of fixing muscles that might  get around the need for perfusion.  For example, some studies add calcium to paraformaldehyde fixative and I was wondering if that might help preserve muscle better. We are working with the gastrocnemius muscle from adult rats, so it is quite thick (~1 cm diameter). I know that it may not be possible to get good immersion fixation for this big a piece of tissue. But I thought I might ask!  Also, we could cut slabs of the muscle and then fix. 
Thanks,
Sarah