[Histonet] Cutting paraffin sections on a cryostat operated at room temperature? Nope.

[Harrison, Sandra C.]

Ever tried turning the handle of the cryostat, when it's at room
temperature?
Cryostats are tooled & manufactured to operate at a low temperature.
Since metal contracts at the low temperature, you'll find that you can't
operate the microtome at the higher temperature.  The handle will barely
move.  

Sandy Harrison, HTL (ASCP)
Histology Supervisor
Minneapolis VAHCS
612-467-2449

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Johnson,
Kevin
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2013 3:09 PM
To: 'histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu'
Subject: [Histonet] Cutting paraffin sections...on a cryostat?

Hi, all.  A bit of an odd question: a colleague knows of someone wanting
to cut paraffin sections who has a cryostat, but no microtome. Since a
cryostat's basically a microtome in a freezer chamber, I thought that it
may be awkward, but theoretically doable once it was brought to room
temp and dried out thoroughly. However, I wondered if lubricants
formulated for the cold might become too thin for use at room temp,
possibly causing damage to moving parts.  Any thoughts?

Kevin Johnson
University of Miami
Diabetes Research Institute
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