Adhesives and mounting medium

Question 1

incubator

Answer 1

37°C overnight

Question 2

slides in a wax oven

Answer 2

56° to 60°C for 2 hours

Question 3

drying the slides on a hot plate

Answer 3

45° to 55°C for 30 to 45 minutes.

Question 4

CNS tissue or brain to avoid splitting and cracking of the section due to excess heat.

Answer 4

37°C for 24 hours

Question 5

most commonly used because it is very easy to make, is convenient, and is relatively inexpensive.

Answer 5

Mayer’s Egg Albumin

Question 6

Adding up to 30 ml of 1% aqueous gelatin to the water in a floating out bath and mixing it well is a most convenient alternative to direct coating of slides.

Answer 6

Gelatin (1%)

Question 7

Coat the slides with the above mixture. Allow coated slides to dry at 37°C for one hour or overnight before use.

Answer 7

Gelatin-formaldehyde mixture

Question 8

This aqueous detergent can be purchased as a 0.1% solution which is further diluted 1:10 with distilled water (final dilution to 0.01%) prior to use.
This is widely used as a section adhesive in immunohistochemistry.

Answer 8

Poly-L-Lysin e

Question 9

very useful in cytology, particularly for cytospin preparations of proteinaceous or bloody material.

better than poly-L-lysine coated slides because they can be stored for a long time without losing their adhesiveness.

Answer 9

APES

3-aminopropylthriethoxysilane

Question 10

mounting media must always have an ___ to impart more transparency.

Answer 10

RI higher than the mounted sample

Question 11

to prevent cracking and drying of the preparation

Answer 11

glycerol

Question 12

to increase the refractive-index

Answer 12

sugar

Question 13

has a low refractive index, is moderately transparent and evaporates easily, hence is good only for temporary mounting.
The refractive index improves the image quality and also supports the specimen.

Answer 13

water

Question 14

may also be used as a preservative.
has a high index of refraction and provides greater visibility if slightly diluted with water (for moist sections).
very suitable semi-permanent mounting medium
miscible with water, is inexpensive, and is non-poisonous.

Answer 14

Glycerin (RI: 1.46)

Question 15

commonly used to mount sections for immunofluorescence and glycerol may be added to other agents to retard drying and cracking.

Answer 15

Phosphate buffered glycerol

RI = 1.47

Question 16

standard mounting medium used when dehydration and clearing with xylene cannot be made (as in fat stains).

Answer 16

GLYCERIN JELLY (KAISER’S 1880) (RI = 1.47)

Question 17

does not solidify upon storage and therefore
does not need to be heated before use.
takes a longer time to harden and may therefore require ringing.
Arsenic trioxide may be used as a substitute of sodium merthiolate for preservation of the medium.

Answer 17

FARRANT’S MEDIUM (RI = 1.43)

Question 18

used for methylene blue-stained nerve preparations and as a general purpose aqueous mountant.
one of the most useful aqueous mountants for fluorescent microscopy, being virtually non- fluorescent.
sets quite hard, has a higher refractive index, and does not require ringing.

Answer 18

APATHY’S MEDIUM (RI = 1.52)

Question 19

is recommended for mounting frozen sections from water.

Answer 19

Brun’s Fluid

Question 20

used for preparations that have been dehydrated and cleared in xylene or toluene, and are recommended for
majority of staining methods.

They may be divided into natural and synthetic resins.

are used for embedding undecalcified bones, and for electron microscopy.

Answer 20

RESINOUS MOUNTING MEDIA

Question 21

dissolved in xylene in an incubator at 37°C or paraffin oven at 58 °C

It is a transparent, almost colorless oleoresin that adheres firmly to glass and sets to a hard consistency without granulation.

Calcium carbonate chips may be added to maintain its neutral reaction.

for whole mounts and for thick sections because it does not shrink much.

Answer 21

Canada Balsam (RI = 1.524)

Question 22

Canada Balsam (RI = 1.524)

Answer 22

Canadian tree: Abus Balsamea

Question 23

recommended for small tissue sections but not for whole mounts because of shrinkage produced on drying
colorless, neutral medium in which most standard stains are well preserved.
It tends to set quickly and, in doing so, often retract from the edge of the coverslip.

Answer 23

DPX - (Dibutyl Phthalate and Xylene) (RI = 1.532)

Question 24

synthetic resin mixture in xylene, available in a pale yellow or colorless solution.
Dries quickly without retraction, and preserves stains well.

Answer 24

XAM (RI = 1.52)

Question 25

synthetic resin which is soluble in xylene

generally preferred over D.P.X

Answer 25

CLARITE (RI = 1.544)

Question 26

process of sealing the margins of the cover-slip to prevent the escape of fluid or semi-fluid mounts and evaporation of mountant, to fix the coverslip in place, and to prevent sticking of the slides upon storage.
The term “ringing” originated b

Answer 26

Ringing

Question 27

made up of two parts paraffin wax mixed with 4-9 parts powdered colophonium resin, heated and filtered.

Answer 27

Kronig cement

Question 28

cellulose adhesives

Answer 28

Durofix