[Histonet] Fresh tissue soaked in ethanol solution prior to formalin fixation

[Lucas Cahill]

Hi all,

I am using a protocol where fresh breast tissue is immersed in an alcohol
based staining solution (50% ethanol, 50% water) for 2-5 minutes before
formalin fixation and paraffin processing for H&E, immunohistochemistry,
and immunofluorescence. I have not seen differences in subsequent
processing on the tissue that I've tested, however, I'm wondering if the
50% ethanol solution on fresh tissue has an effect. I know tissue can be
alcohol fixed but this is not standard in clinical breast tissue processing
and 2-5 mins does not seem like it would fix the tissue.
Are there any protocols that use an alcohol based solution on fresh tissue
prior to formalin fixation that are known not to affect subsequent
processing such as immunohistochemistry? Does anyone have any intuition on
how this could affect tissue analysis?

Best,

Lucas


-- 
*Lucas Cahill*
PhD Candidate | Medical Engineering & Medical Physics
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology