[Histonet] Re: pros and cons of Zinc formalin

[Teri Johnson]

Hi Colleen,

I have used Zinc formalin in the past, and here are some issues we faced.

You must not keep the tissues in Zinc formalin for an extended period of time or they get brittle.
You must rinse the zinc formalin fixed tissues with water prior to putting them into any phosphate buffered solution. Otherwise you will get a fine white precipitate that can settle into your tissues.
If your pathologists are not accustomed to seeing the level of cellular detail (artifact) seen with this fixative, it becomes an issue for them. They need to know it has been fixed in something other than NBF.
Silver stains may not stain as cleanly as NBF fixed tissues.
IHC retrieval may need to be altered from your SOPs.

Other than that, our hematopathologist loved it for lymph nodes and bone marrows. It became the lab standard after getting rid of B-5 fixative.


Teri Johnson
Manager, Histology
GNF - San Diego, CA
858-332-4752