[Histonet] RE: Plastic/Plexiglass Incubation chamber for IHC slides

[Morken, Timothy]

Sarah, 

Wow, brings back memories of the good ol' days when we used all kinds of stuff to  make our own trays.  In one lab I worked at we had a small Tupperware container for each antibody and layed paper towels and wood rods on the bottom to hold the slides the surface. We'd wet the paper towels for humidity. When a new lab was built they specifically designed it for this method and we had a 20-foot long bench just so we could line up dozens of these small Tupperware containers! What a pain that was to go through each round of washing!! We did 150 slides a day that way for years. Blessed is the day we got automated stainers!!


Tim Morken
Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
Department of Pathology
UC San Francisco Medical Center



-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Pixley, Sarah (pixleysk)
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2013 10:24 AM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] RE: Plastic/Plexiglass Incubation chamber for IHC slides

Dear All:
We use a Tupperware container, with a nice air/liquid-tight lid. But any container like that will work. Our trick is to buy plastic ceiling tile material from the hardware store. (Used in ceiling panels.)  It comes in big sheets (5 feet by 3 feet?) and is pretty cheap (~$12/sheet).  We get the white or clear kind that has square holes cut through the plastic. The holes are about 1 cm square. We then use pliers to "cut" out panels/pieces that will fit inside the container (wear face protection because the plastic flies all over the place). We put one piece in the bottom of the container, then set a metal slide rack (or any water-proof slide rack) on top. We put water in the bottom and this first panel keeps the slides from getting wet. Then, I cut out 4 single squares of the material and put them inside the metal slide racks, at all 4 corners. Then I can lay another metal slide rack on top. Another 4 pieces, another rack, etc.  So you can build up a tall stack depending on the size of your container. And the ceiling tile material is also really good for under drying dishes and other uses around the lab. 
The cheap way to make an incubation chamber!
Sarah Pixley
Univ. of Cincinnati

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