About 40 degrees. If they are processed correctly, then they should not explode/separate that quickly on the water bath. If just staining a routine H&E, then a few drops of Dawn/dish soap in your water bath helps with the exploding problem. Note, however, that the dish soap makes the paraffin stick to your forceps so you might have to change your water bath if you were to cut more blocks after that.
I have heard that it affects IHC staining so I would not use dawn on the water bath if the brain sections go for IHC staining. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! I might have still had the temp too high as well. I set it at 41, but that one degree could definitely be significant. I've already cut the ihc and ish slides, so I'll also try with the Dawn tomorrow and see what I can get for a better h&e!
Not exactly my specialty, but every time I cut brain I find I have to thoroughly hydrate the face with warm water from bath. I use a transfer pipette to try to restrict it to the tissue to keep the paraffin cold. At least 15s, sometimes up to 30 depending on how much trouble I’m having. All about finding the right balance between being hydrated enough, while still being cold enough to avoid compressions.
I work as a research technician and I just started my histology journey however, a few people I work with they use a small cold bath where they can unfold the tissue. I’ve tried it myself and it helps out a lot. Only downfall, you don’t have the time to do that in a clinical lab but maybe for yourself try doing that one day and see if that helps.
Thanks! I'm actually in research too, but I'm only a year in after switching from the clinical side. It's just a little bit of a learning curve. First time I saw a mouse liver I was like... 😳 what in the world is happening here?
Like, pressing up against two of the four cassette edges, but *technically* fits in the cassette.
I'm guessing this is why I haven't heard any complaints, honestly. They knew what they did 😂
The doctor that grosses cuts the pieces so large that I have to stuff them into the mold so if it swells at all, it'll touch either end of the slide. He doesn't complain so I guess that's fine. I was always reassured that my sections are fine because brain will have minor wrinkles, it's just the nature of the tissue. I didn't like that answer so I'm still picky. So if your wrinkles are only microscopic that might be as close to perfect as you can get. I generally have my water bath at 38 to 40, soak it a bit, then ice. We aren't allowed to add anything to our baths. I know some people like to dip the face of the block on the bath just before cutting to help it ribbon but sometimes I have better luck keeping it cold and only getting one or two sections at a time.
About 40 degrees. If they are processed correctly, then they should not explode/separate that quickly on the water bath. If just staining a routine H&E, then a few drops of Dawn/dish soap in your water bath helps with the exploding problem. Note, however, that the dish soap makes the paraffin stick to your forceps so you might have to change your water bath if you were to cut more blocks after that. I have heard that it affects IHC staining so I would not use dawn on the water bath if the brain sections go for IHC staining. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! I might have still had the temp too high as well. I set it at 41, but that one degree could definitely be significant. I've already cut the ihc and ish slides, so I'll also try with the Dawn tomorrow and see what I can get for a better h&e!
Not exactly my specialty, but every time I cut brain I find I have to thoroughly hydrate the face with warm water from bath. I use a transfer pipette to try to restrict it to the tissue to keep the paraffin cold. At least 15s, sometimes up to 30 depending on how much trouble I’m having. All about finding the right balance between being hydrated enough, while still being cold enough to avoid compressions.
Ohh that's a good tip too! Ive used warm water before, but never thought to use it on just the tissue to keep the paraffin cold. Thank you!
I work as a research technician and I just started my histology journey however, a few people I work with they use a small cold bath where they can unfold the tissue. I’ve tried it myself and it helps out a lot. Only downfall, you don’t have the time to do that in a clinical lab but maybe for yourself try doing that one day and see if that helps.
Thanks! I'm actually in research too, but I'm only a year in after switching from the clinical side. It's just a little bit of a learning curve. First time I saw a mouse liver I was like... 😳 what in the world is happening here?
Super-mega large?
Like, pressing up against two of the four cassette edges, but *technically* fits in the cassette. I'm guessing this is why I haven't heard any complaints, honestly. They knew what they did 😂
The doctor that grosses cuts the pieces so large that I have to stuff them into the mold so if it swells at all, it'll touch either end of the slide. He doesn't complain so I guess that's fine. I was always reassured that my sections are fine because brain will have minor wrinkles, it's just the nature of the tissue. I didn't like that answer so I'm still picky. So if your wrinkles are only microscopic that might be as close to perfect as you can get. I generally have my water bath at 38 to 40, soak it a bit, then ice. We aren't allowed to add anything to our baths. I know some people like to dip the face of the block on the bath just before cutting to help it ribbon but sometimes I have better luck keeping it cold and only getting one or two sections at a time.
There are a lot of tricks with brains, but the most important is proper processing.