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<div>My pathologist wanted me to find out if any one uses this
technique and what sort of costs would be associated with it.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Thank you</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Maureen</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt><br></tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| From:<br>
| Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 11:10:53 -0500<br>
| Subject: formalin<br>
|<br>
|<br>
|<br>
| Greetings BBAG members,<br>
|<br>
| I am writing in response to postings last month concerning
formalin<br>
| collections:<br>
|<br>
| Modern methods of research and diagnostics are increasingly
turning<br>
| to the molecular genetic level. Thus it is becoming increasingly<br>
| important for those dealing with any aspect of tissue sampling to
be<br>
| aware of the potential downstream utility of the specimens that
they<br>
| collect. Simply maintaining jars of formalin-fixed material is<br>
| difficult to justify in light of storage space and maintenance
costs<br>
| compared with the lack of downstream utility of the specimen for<br>
| molecular analysis (formalin causes DNA to bind to histone
proteins,<br>
| making it useless for all but the crudest of molecular assays and
it<br>
| virtually destroys RNA).<br>
|<br>
| What many research hospitals and biotech companies conducting<br>
| pathology research prefer to do is: collect the tissue specimen
in<br>
| OCT buffer and cryopreserve it. Such a sample is amenable to
both<br>
| traditional sectioning as well as DNA/RNA analysis - which helps<br>
| justify collecting and retaining the sample since it has value
for<br>
| other as yet unidentified research purposes. It is important to<br>
| realize that such a sample takes up far less space than a jar
of</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| formalin, and assuming the freezer
doesnt malfunction, requires less</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| maintenance as well. Cryopreserved
tissues can be used in molecular</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| assays ranging from paternity
exclusion, to retrospective<br>
| epidemiological surveys and environmental toxicology
examinations.<br>
| Such a collection is of far greater prospective value than<br>
| traditional collections and individuals/institutions need to<br>
| carefully examine the underlying justification for making
biomaterial<br>
| collections in light of limited financial resources. A plastic<br>
| cryovial is far less expensive than a jar of formalin - and OCT<br>
| buffer is much less toxic than formalin.<br>
|<br>
| It is easy to make a strong case for archiving frozen tissues,<br>
| despite the up front capital costs for freezers... Ultimately,
using<br>
| liquid Nitrogen protects your collection from mechanical freezer<br>
| failure and power outages, as well as providing temperatures
cold<br>
| enough to preserve viable cells, including gametes and embryos.
Thus,<br>
| Many institutions can benefit from establishing a centralized<br>
| biomaterial core facility which can serve many different
researchers<br>
| - from vets and pathologists, to conservation geneticists and
repro</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| specialists. It can also be
advantageous to enter into a strategic<br>
| partnership with a dedicated cryostorage facility which can
backup<br>
| your collection at a remote fail-safe location.<br>
|<br>
| No matter what you collect or how you collect it, I cannot
overstate<br>
| the importance of having an electronic inventory of your
collection<br>
| for rapid information dissemination and specimen retrieval. A<br>
| collection only has value when researchers are aware of its
existence<br>
| and contents. Fortunately, there are a number of prepackaged<br>
| software/hardware systems which will allow for computer generation
of<br>
| specimen labels, sample tracking, etc.<br>
|<br>
| The international Society for Biological and Environmental<br>
| Repositories (ISBER) will have "Repository Design and Data<br>
| Management" as a theme for our next annual meeting, to be held
at the<br>
| American Museum of Natural History May 11-14, 2004. Those
interested<br>
| in learning more about modern biomaterial collections and their<br>
| management should consider attending this conference. In the
mean<br>
| time, feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions
and<br>
| I will do my best to steer to someone who can help answer them (if
I<br>
| cannot do so myself).<br>
|<br>
| Robert Hanner, Ph.D.<br>
| Scientific Program Director<br>
| Coriell Institute for Medical Research<br>
| 403 Haddon Avenue</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| Camden, NJ 08103<br>
|<br>
| Voice: (856) 757-9727<br>
| Fax: (856) 757-9737<br>
|</tt> <a
href="http://cimr.umdnj.edu"><tt>http://cimr.umdnj.edu</tt></a><tt><br
>
|<br>
| President<br>
| International Society for Biological and Environmental
Repositories<br>
|</tt> <a
href="http://www.ISBER.org"><tt>http://www.ISBER.org</tt></a><tt><br>
|<br>
| ><br>
| >| With respect to Scott's question, "wet"
formalin-fixed tissues have been<br>
| >| placed in glass jars with screw top lids for long-term
storage. At the<br>
| >| present time, these tissues are being kept permanantly.
Full sets of<br>
| >| tissue are trimmed in, paraffin embedded, and a set of glass
slides is<br>
| >| prepared for the majority of the collection animals. The
blocks and<br>
| >| glass slides are also permanently kept. All of the
materials are<br>
| >| presently housed on-site either in a moderately sized room off
our<br>
| >| histology lab or in a large metal "container" behind
the Health Center.<br>
| >| What happens when all the room is filled? Not yet sure.
It is likely<br>
| >| that over the next little while (year or two) we will have to
rethink<br>
| >| our policy of keeping everything forever since space issues
and several<br>
| >| other problems that John detailed quite nicely (maintenance of
the jars<br>
| >| - topping them off, clean-up, and personnel time to manage the
archived<br>
| >| tissues) are and will continue to be problems. It is
likely that blocks<br>
| >| and slides will be kept permanently and that decisions will
have to be<br>
| >| made about the formalin fixed tissues. I can contact you
at a later<br>
| >| date once we have decided what our course for the future will
be.<br>
| >|<br>
| >| Regarding the usefulness of tissues for molecular diagnostic
techniques<br>
| >| after long-term formalin fixation...I have little expertise in
this<br>
| >| area, however I seem to have heard or read similar information
to what<br>
| >| John describes and have also gotten mixed results when I have
run immuno<br>
| >| on tissues that have been stored for a long time in formalin
before<br>
| >| being paraffin embedded.<br>
| >|<br>
| >| D<br>
| >|<br>
| >| D McAloose, VMD, Diplomate ACVP<br>
| >| Acting Head, Department of Pathology<br>
| >| Wildlife Conservation Society<br>
| >| Department of Pathology<br>
| >| 2300 Southern Blvd<br>
| >| Bronx, NY 10460<br>
| >| (718) 220-7105<br>
| >|</tt> <a
href="mailto:dmcaloose@wcs.org"><tt>dmcaloose@wcs.org</tt></a><tt><br>
| >|</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| >|</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>|</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| ></tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| >|</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>| >|
----------------------------------------------------------------<br>
| >| | From:<br>
| >| | Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 07:01:08 -0500<br>
| >| | Subject: Wet tissue archiving<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | [attachment below: attachment 279f2c-2]<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | Hello all,<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | I am trying to get a feel for methods of long-term storage
of "wet"<br>
| >| | formalin fixed tissues. I currently use a heat sealed
plastic bag<br>
| >| | system in my lab, but am looking for other opinions
concerning these<br>
| >| | tissues. Answers or discussion about any or all of
these questions<br>
| >| | would be great:<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | 1. Do you think long term stored wet tissues have value
(other than<br>
| >| | histopathology)?<br>
| >| |<x-tab> </x-tab>I was under the general
impression that tissues that sit in formalin<br>
| >| | for years are no longer good for genetics, immuno, in situ,
PCR, etc<br>
| >| | 2. What is the best way to keep wet tissues long term
(10,20,50 years<br>
| >| or<br>
| >| | more)?<br>
| >| | 3. Have you had good or bad experience with plastic bags or
any other<br>
| >| | system?<br>
| >| | 4. What happens when you run out of space?<br>
| >| | 5. Some institutions actually trim all of their wet tissues
into<br>
| >| | paraffin blocks for storage...does anyone have experience
with this?<br>
| >| | 6. Any input would be welcomed<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | Scott P. Terrell, DVM, Diplomate ACVP<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | Veterinary Pathologist, Walt Disney World Animal
Programs<br>
| >| | Assistant Professor, Pathobiology, University of Florida
College of<br>
| >| | Veterinary Medicine<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | Office: (407)938-2746<br>
| >| | Fax: (407): 938-1909<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| | Address:<br>
| >| | Veterinary Services, Disney's Animal Kingdom<br>
| >| | 1200 N. Savannah Cir<br>
| >| | Bay Lake, FL 32830<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| |<br>
| >| |<br>
| >|<br>
|<br>
|<br>
| --<br>
|</tt><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>--<br>
Victoria L. Clyde, DVM<br>
Staff Veterinarian<br>
Milwaukee County Zoo<br>
10001 West Blue Mound Road<br>
Milwaukee, WI 53226<br>
414-771-3040 zoo</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><tt>414-256-5441 hospital<br>
414-256-5451 office<br>
414-256-2522 fax<br>
</tt><a
href="mailto:vclyde@execpc.com"><tt>vclyde@execpc.com</tt></a></blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
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<div><font
color="#000000"><x-tab>
</x-tab></font><font face="FrenchScript" size="+3"
color="#0000FF"><i>Maureen Decorah<x-tab> </x-tab></i></font><font
face="Apple Chancery" size="+2"
color="#0000FF"><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>(608) 262-0933</font></div>
<div><font face="Apple Chancery" size="+2"
color="#0000FF"><x-tab>
</x-tab>1710 University Avenue<x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>(608) 265-2698 Fax<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>385 Enzyme
Institute</font></div>
<div><font face="Apple Chancery" size="+2"
color="#0000FF"><x-tab>
</x-tab>Madison, WI 53726-4087<x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab><x-tab>
</x-tab>decorah@rarc.wisc.edu</font></div>
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