[Histonet] Re: Cooling paraffin blocks with ice

[joelle weaver]

Glad if that is some of the information you were hinting at.




Joelle Weaver MAOM, HTL (ASCP) QIHC
 > From: carl.hobbs <@t> kcl.ac.uk
> To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:27:49 +0000
> Subject: [Histonet] Re: Cooling paraffin blocks with ice  
> 
> Nice one, Joelle.
> 
> Good points....
> I thank you for that sophisticated paper!
> 
> Yep, wax is not JUST wax.
> It indeed has a crystalline, sophisticated  structure.
> Yes, cutting good sections depends upon temp/speed of cutting/angle of knife/additives/effectiveness of processing.
> May be more variables ...( eg: sharpness of blade, humidity)
> ( Them crystals "slide" over each other, with heat.....thus COLD tends to minimize compression of section: ironically, so does heat: it momentarily expands the crystals....)
> 
> I recall a paper by Edward Brain...in the 70s....proposing the addition of naphthalene to Pwax to improve penetration/cutting.
> It worked very well....then we realised that this additive was...NOT an appropriate one;-)
> Them were the days when we had Tea in the Lab and....smoked an occasional fag, next to the dewaxing xylene ;-)
> Interestingly, there have been no reports of xylene-related fires/cancers in the ~ 100 years of xylene use.
> Or, am I wrong ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> 
> Carl
> 
> 
> 
> Carl Hobbs
> Histology Manager
> Wolfson CARD
> School of Biomedical Sciences
> Kings College London
> Guys Campus
> SE1 1UL
> Tel: 020 78486813
> Fax: 020 78486816
> 020 78486813
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Histonet mailing list
> Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet