Impregnation and Embedding Flashcards
[3] Types of tissue impregnating medium
[PCG]
- Paraffin wax
- Celloidin (collodion)
- Gelatin and plastic
Simplest, most common and best embedding medium.
Paraffin wax impregnation
Very rapid.
Paraffin wax impregnation
Melting point of paraffin wax impregnation.
56°C
Thin sections maybe cut without undue distortion.
[dis/advantages]
Advantages
Rapid, and can be prepared within 24 hrs.
[dis/advantages]
Advantages
Tissue blocks may be stored in paraffin for an indefinite period of time after impregnation.
[dis/advantages]
Advantages
Permits staining.
[dis/advantages]
Advantages
Overheated paraffin can make the specimen brittle.
[dis/advantages]
Disadvantages
Prolonged impregnation will cause excessive shrinkage and hardening.
[dis/advantages]
Disadvantages
Inadequate impregnation will cause retention of the clearing agent.
Disadvantages
Paraffin processing is not recommended for fatty tissues.
Disadvantages
[3] Ways which praffin wax may be performed.
[MAV]
- Manual processing
- Automatic processing
- Vacuum processing
With melting point = 56 C is normally used for routine work.
[ways of pw may be performed]
Manual processing
If the lab temperature = 20-24 C
- paraffin wax MP to use:
(54-58 C)
If the lab temp. = 15-18 C
paraffin wax MP to use:
50-54 C
Usually only 2-3 changes of wax are required to remove the clearing agent.
[ways of pw may be performed]
Automatic processing
Parts: 12 individual processing steps
[ways of pw may be performed]
Automatic processing
Transfer arm
[ways of pw may be performed]
Automatic processing
Electrical clock
[ways of pw may be performed]
Transfer arm
Its embedding involves the wax impregnation under negative atmospheric pressure inside an embedding oven.
[ways of pw may be performed]
Vacuum embedding
Provides more rapid wax penetration of tissue.
[ways of pw may be performed]
Vacuum embedding
The time required for complete impregnation is reduced from 25-75% of the normal time required for tissue processing.
[ways of pw may be performed]
Vacuum embedding
[6] Paraffin was substitues
[PEB, TEC]
- Paraplast
- Embeddol
- Bioloid
- Tissue mat
- Ester wax
- Carbowax
MP: 56-57 C
[paraffin wax substitute]
Paraplast
Mixture of highly purified paraffin and synthetic plastic polymers.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Paraplast
For large dense tissue blocks such as bones and brain.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Paraplast
MP: 56-58 C
[paraffin wax substitute]
Embeddol
Less brittle and less compressible than paraplast.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Embeddol
A product of paraffin, containing rubber, with the same property as paraplast.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Tissue mat
Synthetic wax
[paraffin wax substitute]
Bioloid
MP: 46-48 C
[paraffin wax substitute]
Ester wax
Harder than paraffin.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Ester wax
Not soluble in water.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Ester wax
Soluble in 95% ETOH and other clearing agents.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Ester wax
Soluble and miscible with water (hence does not require dehydration and clearing of the tissue).
[paraffin wax substitute]
Carbowax
Tissues are fixed, washed out and transferred directly into melted carbowax.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Carbowax
Suitable for many enzyme histochemical studies.
[paraffin wax substitute]
Carbowax
AKA “colloidin”
[types of tissue impregnating medium]
Celloidin
Very slow (days to weeks) Methods:
[types of tissue impregnating medium]
Celloidin
[3] Celloidin methods
[WDN]
- Wet celloidin
- Dry celloidin
- Nitrocellulose method (low viscosity nitrocellulos)
Rarely used.
Gelatin
Water soluble
Gelatin
Plastic/Resin
Gelatin
[3] Plastic/Resin – classified into:
[EPA]
- Epoxy
- Polyester
- Acrylic
Done after wax impregnation.
Embedding/Casting/Blocking
Placing the tissue in a mold containing the medium.
Embedding/Casting/Blocking
Orientation- process by which thee tissue is arranged in a precise positions in the mold.
Embedding/Casting/Blocking
[4] Types of molds that is used.
[LCPD]
- Leuckhart’s embedding molds
- Compount embedding unit
- Plastic embedding rings and base molds
- Disposal embedding molds
[3] Disposal embedding molds
[PPP]
- Peel away
- Plastic ice trays
- Paper boats
Reduces antigenicity, toxic and damage tissue.
[other embedding methods]
Epoxy
Not often used.
[other embedding methods]
Polyester
Used extensively for light microscopy .
[other embedding methods]
Acrylic
Amount of phenol to prevent molds in gelatin.
1%
Process by which the tissue is arranged in a precise positions in the mold.
Orientation - Embedding/Casting/Blocking
[6] Steps in Embedding/Casting/Blocking
- Remove tissue from cassette
- Fill mould with wax and orientate tissue
- Cool and flatten as required
- Add cassette, fill with the wax and put on cold plate
- Remove cassette from mould
- Block now ready for sectioning
This method makes use of an automatic tissue processing machine (Autotechnicon).
[ways of pw may be performed]
Automatic processing
[3] Epoxy
[BGC]
- Bisphenol A (Araldite)
- Glycerol (epon)
- Cyclohexene dioxide (spurr)
Araldite
[epoxy]
Bisphenol A
Epon
[epoxy]
Glycerol
Spurr
[epoxy]
Cyclohexene dioxide
Give at least 1 PRECAUTIONS IN WAX IMPREGNATION
- Tissue should not be left in paraffin wax for longer periods of time than is necessary.
Bones, teeth, large brain sections & whole organs.
[celloidin]
Wet celloidin
Whole eye sections and stored in Gilsons mixture.
[celloidin]
Dry celloidin
Equal concentration of ether and alcohol.
[celloidin]
Low Viscosity Nitrocellulose
Consists of two L-shaped strips of heavy brass or metal arranged on a flat metal plate and which can be moved to adjust the size of the mold to the size of the specimen.
[mold]
Leuckhart’s Embedding Mold
Made up of a series of INTERLOCKING PLATES resting on a flat metal base, forming several compartments.
[molds]
Compound Embedding Unit
Consist of a special STAINLESS STEEL BASE mold fitted with a plastic embedding ring, which later serves as the block holder during cutting.
[molds]
Plastic embedding rings and base mold
Warm plate to manage the impregnated specimen, and a cold plate at -5°C for rapid solidification of the block.
[Plastic embedding rings and base molds]
Tissue tek
Slow, partly because the epoxy plastic itself is a large molecule.
[epoxy]
Bisphenol A (Araldite)
Have a lower viscosity but are often sold as mixtures of isomers.
[epoxy]
Glycerol (epon)
Can be obtained pure, have very low viscosity, and infiltrate fastest.
[epoxy]
Cyclohexene dioxide (spurr)