[Histonet] Paraffin Preference

[Bacon, Charles]

Hi Paula,

I have worked in a couple different labs and in one lab we used Paraplast Plus. Because of the DMSO, tissue infiltration is superb with that paraffin. Unfortunately DMSO is not good for stainless steel so when we had to replace our processor (now with a stainless retort) we also had to replace our paraffin. We opted for Polyscientific Infiltrating/Embedding Paraffin Prills, Catalog Number: c827. It is a bit more money but after testing several other paraffins including the Richard Alan ones, this was the closest we could get to the performance of the Paraplast Plus. This is only the case if you are using one paraffin for BOTH infiltration/processing and embedding. If so, this paraffin is the best for the money. If you want to have two separate paraffins, one for processing only and a second type for embedding then your options are wide open. You can opt for paraffin where the chemistry has less plastics for processing and more for embedding, giving you a more supportive block.  In the lab I am in now we also use the Polyscientific for both processing and embedding. 

Good luck,

Chuck Bacon, HTL(ASCP)CM 
Supervisor Histology
Baystate Medical Center
361 Whitney Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040
Telephone: 413-322-4786  Fax: 413-322-4790
Charles.Bacon at baystatehealth.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Paula <plucas at biopath.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2020 9:36 AM
To: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Paraffin Preference

Hi everyone..good morning.

 

I have samples of Fisher Scientific..or maybe it's Richard-Allan's paraffin.
It's called Histoplast PE.  

 

We use Leica's Paraplast Plus currently and I would like to know if anyone
can share their preference and if you can offer any comments about the
differences in the paraffin.  Also, can I mix the two?

 

Thanks so much in advance and have a great day.

 

Paula

Lab Manager

Bio-Path Medical Group



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